http://www.beltone.com/hearing-health/ear-buds.aspx
I refuse to believe this until I hear it from our resident ears, nose, and ankles specialist @YouSeeEffer
Ear buds are by far the most popular choice for listening–they're tiny and light, fit into a pocket, and cost next to nothing.
The problem is, these little portable speakers are causing hearing damage at an alarming rate. In fact, studies show that 1 in 5 American teenagers already suffers from hearing loss.
The ear buds commonly used with iPod® or MP3 players sit within the ear canal. This puts the audio signal close to your inner year–the equivalent of boosting it by as much as nine decibels. Nine decibels is substantial, when you consider that anything over 85 decibels can cause hearing damage. It's like going from the sound of a dinner bell to the sound of a lawn mower. And, if the ear buds don't make a tight seal, background noise seeps in causing the wearer to raise the volume even more.
Further, newer iPod and MP3 devices have more memory and better battery life, allowing people to listen longer, without interruption.
Even moderately high volume can cause hearing loss if listened to for too long. For example, listening to sound at ninety decibels for three hours can be as damaging as hearing something at 155 decibels (like a jet taking off) for thirty seconds.
I refuse to believe this until I hear it from our resident ears, nose, and ankles specialist @YouSeeEffer
Ear buds are by far the most popular choice for listening–they're tiny and light, fit into a pocket, and cost next to nothing.
The problem is, these little portable speakers are causing hearing damage at an alarming rate. In fact, studies show that 1 in 5 American teenagers already suffers from hearing loss.
The ear buds commonly used with iPod® or MP3 players sit within the ear canal. This puts the audio signal close to your inner year–the equivalent of boosting it by as much as nine decibels. Nine decibels is substantial, when you consider that anything over 85 decibels can cause hearing damage. It's like going from the sound of a dinner bell to the sound of a lawn mower. And, if the ear buds don't make a tight seal, background noise seeps in causing the wearer to raise the volume even more.
Further, newer iPod and MP3 devices have more memory and better battery life, allowing people to listen longer, without interruption.
Even moderately high volume can cause hearing loss if listened to for too long. For example, listening to sound at ninety decibels for three hours can be as damaging as hearing something at 155 decibels (like a jet taking off) for thirty seconds.
