MP3 players may cause hearing loss
posted Sep 6th 2005 8:00AM
Technology giveth, technology taketh
away. Cellphones cause brain cancer, wearing a
tattoo t-shirt will certainly end in a much deserved
poser pummeling, and now…listening to your MP3 player causes hearing loss. A study by Harvard Medical School found that
the in-ear-style headphones increased sound levels "by up to 9 decibels" over can-style headphones — that's the sound
of normal breathing at the low-end but significant at high levels on the exponential decibel scale! Ok, so that
increase alone won't shatter your drum but the study also finds these headphones inefficient at blocking out background
noise providing incentive to crank it up baby, yeeeah! Harvard creds not good enough for ya? A study completed last
month in Australia shows a quarter of all people surveyed listened to their "iPods at volumes that could cause long
term hearing damage." Well, none of this should be a surprise — just think of how many times those Haight Street Gap
workers blast their Juice Newton to avoid the incessant slur of "doses" and "sticky green buds."
You do realise an increase of 9 decibels and 9dbA are completly different things.
An increase of 9decibels is nearly equal to an increase in 10times the volume, being a logarithmic scale.
As to mp3s players damaging your hearing, does that mean cassette tape and cd are safe *boggle*. Of course being .uk I get the apple santised ipod that won't turn up as loud.
9 decibels is a heck of a lot when you get at the higher levels.
The decibel scale is exponential. So when you go up by 9 decibels, it is going to be 9 times as large
Have a read
http://www.schoolscience.co.uk/content/4/physics/corus/sound/psch1pg3.html
Righto nolan and Andy, I have edited the text.
I usually poo-poo all scare stories, but hearing damage is very real and effects millions, it's not hearing loss you have to worry about, I myself have goosed my ears through full cranked dance music and now have to listen to high pitched whistling (tinitus)27/7, it never stops and I'll never hear silence again.
i think the person in that picture needed a bigger helmet. that better be photoshopped!
I can always crank up my iPod when my hearing goes...
Oh wait, it already has.
Two problems with the "in ear" style of audio monitors.
1) The standard ipod ear buds do not compelete a seal and need to have volume increase to make up for the ambiant sound.
2) A lot of people listen with one ear bud out, which results in an additional 9dbA over the noise floor coming in the open ear. It's a huge problem with musicians as well, who try to play with in-ears and only put one in. With the release of the Ultimate Ears Super.fi 3's, you can cheaply get tight fitting ear buds that sound great too. Additionally, I would recommend getting custom ear molds to get a more comfortable seal. If you got to concerts a lot, you can also get flat EQ ear plugs that bring down the noise level, but don't lose any of the sound quality. Check out http://wwww.hearnet.com for great info about sound safety. Sorry to ramble, but I work with musicicians who lose their hearing quite quickly.
Change "mp3 player" to "walkman" or "portable radio" and you have every hearing loss related article published within the last 40 years or so. Turning up the volume too loud can be bad for your hearing? Gee, thanks for the news flash.
NOT news. Just because it's a new article doesn't mean we have to talk about it. Yeah yeah, we know.....
Hearing loss is NO reason to poo poo MP3 players. This thing has been with us for YEARS. I will agree, iPod buds do not block outside sounds enough. In Ear like the Etymotics are by far the way to go because they block the sounds out.
Sony EX-71s (in-ear rubber buds) help block out some ambient noise meaning you dont have to crank the vol so much.
I play my violin at least 6 hours a day.
Someone ask this "research" team, if they just recycled one of the many Walkman hearing loss studies from the past.
Talk about a study to point out the obvious!
My Shure in ear headphones block out noise (especially during flight) very effectively. The level of music I listen to is my own choice and down to whether I am stupid or not.
Incidentally I suffered a hearing loss from use of a back pack type of gasoline leaf blower. Had I been using my in-ear headphones I would not have suffered any ear damage.
whoa aint shures a canal phone? isnt the article about regular earphones?
i have shures e3c's and i noticed that while they block out a lot of background noise i havent turned the volume down that much..anyone else find that?
I'd get some of those headphones that block out noise, but then my earbud wires WOULDN'T BE WHITE AND I'D BE SHUNNED FROM SOCIETY.
Huh? I thought in-ears are supposed to be better coz they block out the ambient noise, which means you do not need to crank up the volume level to "drown out" the noise as with the normal earphones?
true in-ears are, yes. but the standard cheap ones that you buy in most electronic stores and that come with mp3 players are not truly sealed canal in-ears. see link for example: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=5426265&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08352&id=1051826212399
these are typical of the "in-ears" supplied.
yea, true in ear earbuds are the way to go (sony EX-51's) :)
i thought the sellers on haight street were always saying 'stinky green buds'.. ?
What?
What's next? "Dancing in nightclubs causes hearing loss"? Way to go spending all that money on research funds, dumbass harvard scientists.
Get some Shure in-ears and you'll be much happier. I can't stand the apple headphones.
Isn't this a bit obvious though.. OMG LOUD MUSIC HURTS EARS!!! Someone alert the media. There is a good reason why I wear ear plugs at concerts/clubs. I don't care if you think it's pussy or I look stupid. But my ears help pay the bills, and I'd like to keep them the way they are.
hey CB, I have tinnitus too! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!! It's like having a friend everywhere I go. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Wow it really takes a genius to figure out that using a DAP on full volume all the time causes hearing loss. How the hell do these stupid 'scientific' studies recieve funding.
I use isolating cans from Shure and find I can play them at a lower volume because of the lack of background noise. Also I think I actual hear the music better at the lower volume because there is less distortion/overload.