Digital Home Thoughts: Headphone Use May Worsen Hearing Loss

"Researchers fear the growing popularity of portable music players and other items that attach directly to the ears _ including cell phones _ is contributing to hearing loss in younger people. "It's a different level of use than we've seen in the past," says Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology at Purdue University in Indiana. "It's becoming more of a full-day listening experience, as opposed to just when you're jogging." Increasingly, Novak says he's seeing too many young people with "older ears on younger bodies" _ a trend that's been building since the portable Walkman made its debut a few decades back. Everywhere she turns, Angella Day sees people carrying portable music players, often with the ear buds stuffed firmly in place. "They're very widespread," says Day, a senior at Chicago's DePaul University who regularly listens to music on her own iPod while studying or working out. "So addicting.""



As someone who is has a moderate-severe hearing loss in one ear, and is deaf in the other, I can testify to the dangers cited in this article. My hearing aid is a marvel of technology, worth every one of its' $5000, and allows me to hear normally in most situations. That said, it also makes me lose just a little bit more hearing every minute I wear it. It amplifies noise by 50-60 decibels, so a normal conversation to you is a 120 dB conversation in my ear. I can't imagine intentionally pumping loud noise into my ears every day, knowing what damage it does. So next time you're rocking out, turn that iPod down a bit, and give your ears a rest every now and then.