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Earbud use may harm hearing

Posted on Aug 30, 2010 in Opinion

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Since the rise in popularity of mp3 players, iPods (and their predecessors), and smartphones, my mother has always admonished me about wearing earbud headphones rather than the traditional, chunkier headphones that sit on top of the ear.

She always lectures me on the possibility of going deaf and even went as far as replacing the earbuds that came with my iPhone with larger headphones that cost about $20.00.

At first, I took in her warnings with doubt. But after a recent report published in The Journal of American Medical Association, it seems like Doctor Mom might be right about earbuds.

The study compared hearing loss of 1,771 teens from 2005-2006 to that of 3,000 teens from 1988-1994.

Researchers revealed an increase of hearing loss among teens from 15 to 19.4 percent. While the study did not conclusively indicate a specific cause for the greater prevalence of hearing loss, it seems possible that the use of portable mp3 players and iPods may be the source of the issue. In fact, mp3 players became popular around 1999, and the first iPod was launched by Apple in 2001.

In addition to the type of sound devices used today, I think the greater popularity of listening to music may also be contributing to the health problem.

When I walk to class, stand in line at Starbucks, or even have dinner at a restaurant, I can always spot someone with at least one earbud in his or her ear. I also have friends whom I constantly see listening to music with their iPods tucked away conveniently in their pockets.

It is as if they cannot spend a single second in silence; every waking moment of their lives must be filled with some sort of noise. Other peers have even admitted to listening to music to avoid talking to people.

With all this in mind, have digital music players really improved our lives? Because they have become so much more compact and easy to carry, people seem to feel compelled to use them as much as they can.

Thinking back ten years ago, although I was only a child, I don’t recall seeing people carrying cassette or CD players everywhere they went. However, there are definitely nine-year-olds today who walk to elementary school with earbuds in their tiny ears. A few weeks ago I even saw a young boy watching Dora the Explorer from an iPad at the airport.

For those who can’t forgo listening to music as they walk to class or do homework, I suggest investing in noise-cancelling headphones, which allow users to listen to their daily dose of music without having to crank up the volume to mask surrounding noise.

Or perhaps the best solution may be to just go through life without wearing headphones so often.

Email: mechang@uab.edu

 




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