Two recent scientific studies have
documented the worry that teens who crank up the volume in their
digital music players with earbuds are hurting their
hearing. But that’s not the half of it.
“We’re looking at a generation of
adolescents who are setting themselves up for more trouble later in
life,” says
Abbey Berg, a pediatric audiologist in the health sciences
department at Pace University in New York City.
“Most of us suffer hearing loss as we get
older,” she said. For these kids, it’s likely to be
worse.
“Bad hearing is fatiguing,” she says. “A
lot more people will have difficulty working in noisy environments
– and with their social lives.”
Beyond that, it’s well known that people
with hearing loss do less well in school and suffer economically.
“It’s a major public health problem,” Berg says. For starters, a
lot more people are going to need hearing aids.
Berg suggested:
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Encourage normal talking in families, but also at work
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Ideally, people should listen to music at no more than 60 percent of total volume. For an approximation, crank the slider up all the way and then back it down to half.
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Restrict your earphone listening to an hour a day.
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Headphones seem to be better for your hearing than earbuds.
