Aside from enabling teens to isolate themselves from others whenever they feel like doing so, ipods, mp3s, and other portable stereo devices using earphones have more debilitating effects than we might actually think. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests earphones are a main cause of the increase in number of American teenagers who are suffering from hearing loss.
In the past 15 years, a sharp increase of hearing loss among U.S teens has become apparent, and the number is high among boys. The study found 14.9 percent increase in the 1988 to 1994, and further increase of up to 19.4 percent in 2005 to 2006 period. The data was collected from 4,600 12-19-year-old boys included in ongoing federal surveys.Mild or worse hearing loss increased by 77 percent, affecting one in every 20 children in the said age group. Number of affected teens is higher with high-frequency hearing loss than that in low frequencies, and most of the time damaging only one ear.
How loud is the sound that can damage the sensitive structures of our inner ears? The level of damaging noise can depend on duration or length of time a sound is heard, frequency or pitch described in cycles per second called hertz, and amplitude or strength which is measured by decibel.
Normal range of audible frequency foe healthy hearing is from 20 – 20,000 cycles per second, while normal conversation has amplitude of 60 decibels. Anything louder than 85 decibels will eventually lead to hearing loss. And as the sound goes louder, the risk of hearing loss climbs higher as well. According to a Newsweek magazine, "Your ear can safely handle two hours with a power drill (100 dB), but not more than 30 minutes in a noisy video arcade (110 dB). Every 10-decibel increase on the sound scale represents 10 times more ear-battering noise.” Sounds reaching about 120 decibels, the noise level of a passing jet plane, are painful already.
It is wise to protect hearing and take good care of ears as hearing loss is normally irreversible. Even those experts in lab coats can do nothing to bring back healthy hearing than give you a hearing aid.
