Some of us like loud music. Some of us don’t. But we should all be concerned about damaging our ears if we’re going to enjoy our favorite music for as long as possible.
You probably already know that loud music can hurt your ears. What you may not know is that loud noise is so dangerous that just the right amount could actually throw you off and even kill you.
So to mark Back to the Future Day — the date that Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled through time in 1989’s Back to the Future Part II — we’re asking an age-old question: can loud music actually knock somebody off their feet?
Not only can it bowl people over, says Chris Waltham, a University of British Columbia astronomy and physics professor who specializes in music acoustics — it can actually kill people.
According to Waltham, the sound waves that we hear are actually tiny fractions of fluctuations in air pressure. Just how tiny? Air pressure is 100,000 pascals, and the human limit of hearing is roughly one-100,000th of a pascal — or one-10 billionth of air pressure. Via CBC
In fact, it’s not just loud music that can damage your ears. Any loud noise, including that from other sources like machinery or jet engines, put you at risk of temporary and permanent hearing loss.
Earlier this year, the WHO reported that more than over 1 billion young adults and teens are at risk of hearing loss. This means that hearing loss is no longer a problem for the older generation, but the young guys and girls that use headphones, hang out in loud bars and nightclubs and attend music and sporting events.
By analyzing listening habits of 12- to 35-year-olds in wealthier countries around the world, WHO found nearly 50% of those studied listen to unsafe sound levels on personal audio devices and about 40% are exposed to damaging levels of music and noise at entertainment venues.
It doesn’t take much time to damage your hearing at a sports bar or nightclub. According to the WHO, “exposure to noise levels of 100 dB, which is typical in such venues, is safe for no more than 15 minutes.” Via CNN
So how do you know whether your music is cranked up too high?
Simple: if you have to shout to be heard by someone only 2 meters away, then it’s too loud. If you enjoy loud music, then you’ve probably experienced muffled hearing or ringing ears. These are both symptoms of ear damage, and it’s important not to ignore them because ear damage is cumulative and irreversible.
But that’s not all. Even without the symptoms of ear damage, you may still be damaging your ears. If you listen to music with your headphones turned up loud enough so you cannot hear anything else going on around you, then you might be damaging your ears. This can have a serious long-term effect on your hearing.
It gets worse… Even attending a loud concert every once in a while doesn’t mean you’re safe.
If you’re unlucky, all it takes is one loud concert to spark a lifetime of ear problems — a constellation of symptoms that include not just hearing loss but also ringing in the ears, sound sensitivity, a feeling of aural fullness and even chronic ear pain. Via Daily Herald
Another place you might be exposing your ears to damage is at the gym.
What’s good for your body is not necessarily good for your ears. Loud music is an integral part of many workout activities — spin classes are a prime example. A recent article in the New York Times found that the noise levels in a spin class at Crunch averaged 100 decibels over 40 minutes, and hit 105 decibels in its loudest five minutes. A staffer for the Hearing Health Foundation found that the decibel level at her gym hit 115 decibels. You can easily measure decibel levels using an app on your smartphone. The one I use is dBMeterPro.
NIOSH, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, says exposure to 100 decibels can cause permanent hearing damage after just 15 minutes (total, not continuous) per day of exposure. The recommended exposure at 115 decibels is 28 seconds. Via AARP
Loud music is great for entertainment and motivation, but it should never be at the expense of your hearing.
So what’s the solution?
For now – earplugs (when used right). These allow you to attend your gym sessions, music concerts and sport events with no worries of damaged ears. But stay away from the speakers!
Additionally, when using earphones or headphones to listen to music, make sure it’s not too loud. You should still be able to hear someone talking to you while you have them on.
Headphones to Prevent Hearing Loss https://t.co/owTIZ8997h
— Gregor Prajs (@gprajs) October 23, 2015
Related Articles:
How Music Works: What’s the best way to protect your ears at a concert, and still hear the concert?
This week is CBC Music’s Science Week, and all week, we will look at tech innovations that changed music, bring you the best science songs, find out how to design the perfect concert hall, meet music-making robots, check out the latest studies about music and more.
We’re also going to answer questions about how much works. Can an opera singer break a glass? Can sound physically knock someone over? Why do some sounds, like nails on a blackboard, cause pain? How do horns make sound?
Here’s one: What’s the best way to protect your ears at a concert, and still hear the concert? Via CBC
Doctor recommends 60/60 rule for music listening to prevent hearing loss
Now that the days of the Walkman — and its limited battery and volume — are behind us, a hearing-loss epidemic could be ahead.
Doctors who attend to ears, like Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, an ear, nose and throat doctor in northwest Indiana, are encountering hearing problems earlier than ever.
In the past, music listening consisted of a “Walkman with a cassette player and over-the-ear headphones and two double-A batteries,” Cherukuri noted.
“Nowadays you’ve got a fully rechargeable, all-day battery, and in-the-ear-canal earbuds,” he said. “These new devices get much louder and can play for much longer.” Via Chicago Tribune
How Q-Tips Damage Your Ears
If you’re like many people who grew up with well-meaning parents, cleaning out the inside of your ears with Q-tips may be part of your daily hygiene routine. There’s something satisfying about that glob of wax that comes out on the Q-tip that makes you feel like you’re really keeping yourself clean.
Unfortunately, all the research available today indicates that cleaning the inside of your own ears is actually a big health no-no. Via FHFN
