LThe alarm was also raised in 2022: over a billion people of different ages are at risk of deafness all over the world. To bring it back iL BMJ Global Health which compared 33 studies done on the subject demonstrating that over the 24% of young people listen to loud music while the 48% attend concerts that are too loud. «It is an alarm that had already been launched in 2005 by various medical journals which signaled how the habit of boys to listen to music at high volumes represented a potential danger for developing hearing impairment,” explains the Professor Andrea Nacci, Specialist in Otolaryngology and Medical Director of Otolaryngology, Audiology and University Phoniatry, University Hospital of Pisa and scientific referent Schwabe.
Headphones and earphones, too loud volume is a social alarm
It has long been denounced as theLong-term exposure to excessively loud and loud noises irreparably damages your hearing. A problem that involves two aspects of social life: not only young people and music, with attendance at concerts and an abuse of headphones and earphones, but also the workplace.
«In Europe, 30 million workers are exposed to harmful levels of noise (> 80dB) while 9 million are exposed to much higher noise (>90dB)» explains the Professor. It is no coincidence that in our continent noise-induced hearing loss has a prevalence of 4.3%; a low figure only apparently if one considers that the general hearing loss is 14.3%. In other words, one third of deafness is caused by excessive exposure to noise.
But they are above all loud music and the abuse of earphones are the real problem: «In recent years, ambient noise has become a significant threat to hearing, both due to the high values achieved and the high number of subjects exposed, especially young people. Since the early 2000s, attention has been paid to loud music produced in clubs, especially discos, or during concerts; for over 10 years there has also been a move towards music players which, with the use of headphones or earphones, can reproduce sounds at very high volumes for hours».
Headphones and earphones: why are they accused?
If it is true that some operating systems warn immediately when the threshold that can damage hearing is exceeded, it is equally true that however, excessive use of these devices damages the eardrum. «To understand what we are talking about, just think that if the noise levels considered harmful in the workplace are those above 80dB, the sound levels in the disco can reach 105-113dB while music players reach 80-115dB» explains the ‘expert.
To this is added another feature: if the music players reach 115dB, the headphones reproduce sound up to 120dB. Furthermore, it should also be considered that in mp3 files the sound signal is “compressed” so that not only inaudible or poorly audible frequencies are lost, but the normal variability linked to the alternation of highs and lows are thus removed. This reduces the file size resulting in loss of sound information. Does this “save” hearing? “No. The “compression” of the files does not correspond to a decrease in the risk to hearing. Suffice it to say that the threshold foreseen for working environments (80 dB for 8 hours) is equivalent to listening to an mp3 file at 95dB for 15 minutes or 107dB for 1 minute a day».
The consequences of an abuse of headphones and earphones
However, it is necessary to make a due clarification: the amount of energy that reaches the eardrum does not only depend on the volume and type of music but also on the audio source itself: «In fact, earphones inserted inside the ear canal can cause a greater risk than headphones. Therefore it is important to remember that the risk of hearing damage is related to the type of instrument used, headphones or earphones, to the level of auditory exposure, therefore to the volume, and to the exposure time. For which even continuous listening, at an apparently moderate level, can reach and exceed the level harmful to the ear».
And what are the consequences? «Beyond deafness, there may be a transient hypoacusia associated with tinnitus and a distortion of auditory perception. Also, hearing damage aside, other effects are irritability, sleep disturbances, tension headache and migraine».
Hearing health education is essential
So how can this damage be prevented? “First of all, there is a needhealth and conservation education of hearing: promoting protective behaviors among adolescents through information campaigns to deepen the knowledge of the risks induced by loud musicthe possible preventive strategies and the consequences of hearing loss» concludes the expert.
But prevention also passes through trade where they must be put on the market safer appliances with volume limiters that ensure that they are adjusted to a level that prevents any hearing damage.
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