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| Yes | 60% | 172 votes | Total: 289 votes | |
| No | 40% | 117 votes |
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Add to FavoritesEarphones are used by a very large part of the population. Young people just as adults use them to listen to their music, listen to the news or pod-casts and even learn languages or listen to audio-books. All of these uses can be very satisfying. But mostly listening to music can, especially when done by youngsters, lead to considerable damage to their ears and thus damage their hearing abilities. But why especially youngsters?
Young people are often in opposition the world outside, as one way of finding their own identity is saying "No" to what other people, especially their parents, tell them. This obviously also results in the fact that telling them to turn the volume down just makes them want to hear even louder music. The kind of music young people affect is also influencing the noisiness of their day: Usually, louder and faster music types are preferred, i.e. Techno, House, Rock, Metal or Dance, which all are rather loud. Of course you can adjust the volume yourself, but everybody will agree that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana is somewhat louder than the "Moonlight Sonata" by Beethoven.
How does loud music affect the ear? Well, in order to be able to hear, sound waves are registered by the nerves in the cochlea, which convert this energy into electric impulses for the brain. When exposed for a long time to loud sounds (music, machinery, jets,...), the energy level with whom the sound waves reach your hearing nerves is too high to be correctly converted and the nerve stops working temporarily, it gets numb. (This is like when you have a wound somewhere, after sometime the pain is much less sharp, because the nerves which register it are then used to the signal of pain and don't react that sensitively anymore.) As with the pain-nerve example, the hearing loss or problems (like tinnitus, a sharp ringing in the ears) are temporary -at first. If you continue exposing yourself to too high volume levels, your hearing nerves can get so violently damaged that they won't work normally anymore or that they even stop working completely. This is due to the formation of scar tissue in the delicate hearing organ which doesn't fulfil its job anymore as nerves are very complex and delicate structures. Once they are damaged by one extreme exposition to dangerous energy levels or repetitive exposition to those quantities of energy, they are irreversibly damaged(, unlike other tissues like the skin, which can be regenerated without any problem if there is damage.).
How can one prevent hearing loss? First of all, headphone users should from time to time turn their volume lower and see if they still hear the music perfectly clearly: If they don't their ears might have gotten used to the high volume and they might be insensitive to lower volume ranges. If this occurs, they should turn the volume really low and try listening to their music this way for some time. One or two loud songs are acceptable, but continuous exposure to extreme volume is fatal for their ears! People who are professionally exposed to high-level noises should wear ear protection. Generally, before going to a concert or in a disco, buy some earplugs and put them in: You sure are gonna hear every beat, and your ears are going to thank you for this in 20 years!
Learn more about this author, Jim Schumacher.
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No
The question should not be "Do headphones damage your hearing", but "Can headphones damage your hearing". It is safe to assume that any device that creates excessively loud sounds can damage your hearing. However, not all of these devices necessarily will damage your hearing, and not all of these devices must be excessively loud. If you are wondering if average use of headphones will damage your hearing, the answer is no. If you are wondering if listening to music at full volume will damage your hearing, the answer is possibly.
Most headphones come with a warning that listening to loud sounds may damage hearing. Obviously, you should consider this warning when you use them. However, it is much more difficult to damage your hearing than you may think. If a noise is loud enough to cause physical pain or discomfort, chances are it will damage your ears. After all, pain is your body's natural response to let you know when you are at risk. When you touch a hot pan, you automatically pull your hand back. If you did not, the heat would cause excessive burning and damage to your skin. Similarly, if a sound is so loud it's painful, your body is telling you that damage is happening.
If you use your headphones responsibly, even if they are loud, you should have no problems. Your ears are meant to receive and interpret sounds, even loud sounds. Regardless, no headphones will inflict immediate damage. Even if you do listen to painfully loud sounds, or close to it, the damage is not immediate. Any damage to your hearing is a wearing down of the ear's ability. It will not become apparent until old age. Just as your mind and body in general begin to lose function as you reach old age, so too does your hearing.
If you exercise your mind and body, you can stay as healthy and intelligent as you were in youth. Your hearing is no different. If you listen to excessively loud music your entire life, you will probably hear less as you become old. However, even if damaged, you will still hear, just not as well.
Another factor is the person himself. Some people have great hearing, others not so much. You may know some kids that wear glasses, as well as some people who didn't wear glasses in their youth, but now wear them. Some people naturally lose certain functions because of age. Some are born with functions of less quality than others. Hearing is no different. Someone can have great hearing as an adult, but horrible hearing when he ages further.
Another can have mediocre hearing, but maintain the same quality until the day that he dies. Loud noises can affect your hearing, but the extent of this effect depends on the person. Some may listen to loud music their entire lives, and suffer no consequences, while others live in quiet solitude, yet are deaf by the time they retire.
The last consideration is length of time. Listening to loud sounds for a day, a week, or even a month will not affect your hearing in a noticeable way. It takes years of excessively loud noise to gradually cause noticeable damage to your ears.
As for the question if headphones damage your hearing, the answer is that they can damage your hearing over a prolonged exposure to very loud, even painful sounds, but if you use them as most people do, in a normal manner, they will not cause harm. Headphones do not cause any damage unless used improperly, like just about anything else. Even on high volume, there is little to no danger as long as the volume is not alarmingly loud. In fact, some headphones do not even reach a volume high enough for hearing loss. Headphones are just a method of hearing in a world in which we hear a variety of sounds, many of which are more damaging than the headphones themselves. That said, headphones do not damage hearing if used properly.
Learn more about this author, Christopher Heinz.
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