Cranking the Volume on Your iPod or MP3 Player Can Damage Hearing

The Solution: Lower the Volume, Swap Earbud Headphones for Noise Reduction Ones
By Lee Blue

Kids have always loved listening to their favorite music, and the louder the better – much to their parents’ dismay. In the 1980s, the portable tape recorder with headphones – which came to be known as the “Walkman” – enabled teenagers to listen to their music as loud as they wanted, anywhere they wanted, without disturbing anyone around them.

But the more modern rendition of the Walkman – portable MP3 Players and iPods – pose a major threat to our children’s hearing health, and to ours.

The problem is a combination of the technology of portable digital devices that creates a non-buffered crystal clear sound, and the type of headphones typically used with them, which do not have a buffer either. In December 2005, Dean Garstecki, an audiologist and professor at Northwestern University reported that more and more young people were being diagnosed with the types of hearing loss typically found in older adults. He attributed this trend to the “earbud” type headphones that usually accompany iPod and MP3 Players.

With the earbud headphones, the sound frequencies are not buffered as they are with the more traditional, ear cup-style headsets. Newsweek Magazine recently reported that researchers at the House Ear Institute found that listeners can unfortunately increase the volume of today’s portable digital devices without the “signal distortion that occurs with traditional analog audio.” The older-model headphones that were popular just 15 to 20 years ago – that have ear cups outside of the ears – had that distortion when the volume was turned up, which functioned as a much-needed buffer to protect our hearing. Today’s technology does not provide that buffer – the earpiece is placed in the ear, not outside of it, and the digital devices do not create that distortion, no matter how high the volume.

In addition, people often listen to these devices while they are on the go, and have a tendency to crank the volume in an attempt to drown outside noise, further posing a risk to our hearing. Using the earbud style headphones during activities such as exercise, for example, puts the user at a greater risk. During exercise, blood, which can act as a buffer, is diverted from the ears to other parts of the body – so our already vulnerable hearing is in even more jeopardy.

Headwize reports that a study conducted on music listeners using headphones revealed that while indoors with no background noise, the participants were comfortable with their music at 69 decibels. Outdoors, where the background noise was recorded at 65 decibels, participants using their headphones turned the volume up to 82 decibels and as high as 95 decibels to drown out the surrounding noise. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines limit exposure to noise at this level to no more than four hours each day. The study concluded that the participants were at risk for hearing damage and recommended “avoiding continuous use of [portable stereos] in noisy conditions.”

Northwestern University’s Dean Garstecki offers more specific guidelines: His 60 percent/60 minute rule – listen to MP3 Players and iPods for “about an hour a day and at levels below 60 percent of maximum volume.” The problem is, most of the population using headphones – young music fans – listen to their music for much longer than one hour per day. But, you can help minimize hearing loss, damage and problems while listening to your favorite music as long as you want to – the secret is in the headphones.

Headphones such as the EX29 Extreme Isolation Noise Reduction Headphones help block out external noise allowing you to hear the fine details of your music without blowing out your ear drums. The ear cup fits over the ear, and not in it, and the headphones are lightweight, don’t require batteries and can be used with your MP3 Player or iPod. With 29 decibels of isolation from outside sound, the quiet headphones block outside noise and there is no need to crank the volume of your music.

Aging rock stars like the Who’s Pete Townsend, who has some permanent hearing loss from years of exposure to loud music, and Mick Fleetwood, who has teamed up with Energizer batteries to promote hearing loss prevention, have brought public attention to the fact that many of us take our hearing for granted. But there’s no need to turn off your music – just be smarter about how you listen to it. If you are using your MP3 Player or iPod when you’re exercising, in a noisy environment or you just want to hear the fine details of your music, ditch the earbud headphones and reach for a set of noise reduction ones instead. And you’ll be enjoying your favorite music for a long time to come.

Tags: iPod | MP3 Player | Noise Reduction Headphones| Hearing Loss

Eliminate Noise to Reduce Stress

By Lee Blue

If you’ve been feeling stressed out lately, you’re not alone. Stress is an accepted fact of life that most of us have grown accustomed to enduring in our busy lives. And if you are in the minority population of people who don’t feel stressed, the noise of your surrounding environment is likely stressing you, and you don’t even know it.

Whether you are aware of the stress or not, minimizing the noise in your life can significantly reduce stress and increase a sense of well-being and productivity.

There are many types of audio and visual noise that can cause distractions that break concentration and increase stress. There’s the noise of traffic and conversations when we’re walking down the street, but then there’s the subtle everyday noises of our homes and offices that can easily distract us: doors shutting, the television playing, conversations in the next cube, phones ringing, fingers tapping on the keyboard. A study conducted by Cornell University found that office workers exposed to constant noise showed physiological signs of stress, even though they did not report feeling stressed at all. Not only does the noise distract you, but it can be stressing you and you don’t even realize it.

Blocking out the Noise: Headphones and Earphones

Noise reduction headphones make any trip more comfortable–the longer the trip, the more helpful they are. During my wild youth, right between college and reality (an office job), I took a backpacking trip through Europe. On the flight over, I was given some noise reduction earphones that I used just about every day for two and a half months.

International travel should be mandatory: it’s an eye-opening experience without parallel. But it’s also an ear-closing experience. Planes, trains, boats, and buses wear on the nerves after a few days, to say nothing of the crowds. Have you been to Greece during the summer? It’s a festival of noise.

No More Distractions with Noise Reduction Headphones

The world can be a noisy place with loud and distracting sounds – constant, droning noises – noise reduction headphones can help you get a some peace when surrounded by the distractions of life. Noise Reduction Headphones can block out the sounds and noises that occur in a host of settings and are helpful to those who need a break from the “world of noise”.

Sleeping – If you have trouble sleeping, noise reduction headphones may aid you in getting some rest. Barking dogs, traffic, and awake family members can contribute to sleepless nights, and for those who are sensitive to noise when they’re trying to sleep, noise reduction headphones create a sound-free environment so they can rest.

Playing Music – Musicians often use noise reduction headphones to help them block out sounds that may interfere with them hearing their instrument. Once the background noise is blocked, they are free to concentrate purely on the sounds they are making rather than the sounds around them. This creates an environment of total immersion into their music and allows them to perfect their work without being in a studio.