Why are more young people developing hearing loss?
by Carly Hensman
Too many young kiwis are losing their hearing permanently to entirely preventable causes. Globally, 1 in 5 people under the age of 35 have hearing loss and New Zealand appears to be mirroring this trend. What’s more, we can expect to see this figure double in the next 30 years without a substantial change in attitudes.
Youth hearing loss can be caused by many factors such as genetics, complications at birth, the use of drugs, and chronic ear infections. However, it can also be due to entirely preventable causes such as prolonged noise exposure.
According to the World Health Organisation (2020) 60% of youth hearing loss is due to avoidable causes.
This begs the question, what is behind this rise in youth hearing loss? You’ve probably guessed it already; headphone and earbud use. With the increasing use of smartphones and other personal devices to listen to music and have conversations anywhere, at any time, it’s no wonder we are seeing a rising trend in youth hearing loss.
Headphone use is the most significant contributor to kiwi kids losing their hearing
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.1 billion young people worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
Youth tend to increase the volume above safe levels when they are using their devices in noisy environments. When volume is increased to the highest setting, exposure levels can exceed limits of permissible average and peak sound levels, increasing the risk of permanent hearing damage.
Just listening to headphones for more than five minutes at maximum volume can begin to cause permanent damage to one’s hearing.
How loud is too loud?
Before I launch into an answer here, I think it’s important to understand how volume is measured and what levels are considered “safe”. Volume is measured in decibels (dB) and any noise above 70 dB has the potential to cause damage. Loud noise above 120 dB can cause immediate damage. To help you understand volume, this diagram shows a range of generic noises and their decibel levels.
In addition to volume, the length of listening is also important. You can listen to sounds safely at 70 decibels for as long as you wish. However, sounds at 85 decibels can lead to hearing loss if you listen to them for more than 8 hours at a time. Furthermore, for every 3 decibel increase in noise levels, the permissible exposure time is halved. So, if the noise level is 88 decibels, the maximum exposure time reduces to 4 hours, at 91 decibels it reduces to 2 hours; and so on.
Are headphones capable of exceeding 85 decibels?
Absolutely, YES. In fact, most smartphones and audio listening devices can reach volumes of up to 110 dB - the level of an oncoming train! Additionally, if we apply the formula above, headphones at maximum volume have the potential to cause hearing damage in just 5 minutes. It may seem strange, but the damage is all in the volume and the proximity to the eardrum. What makes headphone use dangerous is that once you damage your hearing due to noise exposure, it’s gone forever and cannot be regenerated. These changes occur slowly and subtly meaning that the damage cannot be detected until a decent fraction of the hearing is lost. Signs of noise induced hearing loss include ringing in the ears, difficulty hearing in noisy environments and difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.
A staggering 50% of youth listen to unsafe levels through personal audio devices. This means that half of our youth are at risk of hearing loss if the necessary precautions are not taken.
In a world where headphones are becoming increasingly popular here are four tips to make listening safe and reduce your risk of damage from headphones:
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• Set the volume at 60% of the maximum volume. Remember, sound less than 70 decibels is unlikely to cause harm so if you’re listening to music all day keep it below the halfway mark.
• Opt for noise cancelling headphones. These cut out the noise so that you don’t have to turn up the volume as loud to hear your music/media.
• Choose headphones over Ear Buds. Ear buds sit deeper in the ear and can be up to 6-9 dB louder than headphones.
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• Take breaks after prolonged listening sessions. Experts recommend the “60/60 rule”: listening to audio at 60% for 60 minutes then taking at least a 5 minute break.
• Limit the daily use of personal listening devices. Aim for less than one hour a day.
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• Set a limit on the maximum volume. 60% of the maximum volume is recommended. Check your user manual to see if this is an option on your device.
• Monitor safe listening levels through use of your smartphone. Track volume and usage so that if safe listening levels are exceeded, the user is notified. For youth, a total of 40 hours per week at volume levels no higher than 75 decibels is recommended.
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• Pay attention to the warning signs of hearing loss. These include difficulty hearing in background noise, ringing in the ears (tinnitus) or difficulty hearing high-pitched sounds.
• Get regular hearing checks with an audiologist. This helps identify the onset of hearing loss at an early stage.
