These days, it’s hard to find anyone that doesn’t own a set of headphones or earbuds. Listening to music in your own private world is a beautiful thing, especially when listening to it on speakers would be disruptive to others.
Whether you work in an office and want to fuel your creativity, have kids that are sleeping in the next room, or just want to make a long commute on the subway or bus more pleasant, having headphones is essential.
Headphones are one of the best inventions of modern times, though they can be very dangerous when you don’t take precautions to use them correctly.
Many side effects can abound from frequent headphone use. It’s important to be aware of them so you can take advantage of the great benefits an awesome set of quality headphones provides.
Before you put your headphones on again, keep reading so you know the side effects of using them and how to make sure you get the best benefits from them instead!
What Are the Side Effects of Using Headphones in General?
While the benefits of using headphones are great, there are drawbacks to using them as well. The side effects that you can encounter are something you should be familiar with.
All headphones bear some risk with using them, though noise-cancelling headphones should always be used with great caution.
They can be wonderful in situations where you need to counter low-frequency noises for your health, like on a long-haul flight abroad for example, or when you need to concentrate on work in a buzzy office.
They can also be fantastic for listening to music at lower volumes while getting more in tune with what you’re listening to.
But they can be extremely dangerous if you’re wearing them when you walk down busy streets. Because of the technology, it drowns out sounds you really need to hear in situations that you should be paying attention to.
If you’re crossing the street while wearing noise-cancelling headphones, or even any headphones playing too loudly, you might not hear the sound of a car approaching.
It doesn’t matter if you have the right of way… if you can’t hear what’s coming, you’re toast!
Crossing railway tracks is another problem in countries like India too. It was reported in 2014 that 379 people were killed in the Old Delhi railway station.
That number rose to nearly 600 in Chennai following that. People that aren’t paying attention are more prone to accidents like these, and those that are busy listening to headphones instead of tuning into their surroundings are at the greatest risk.
Turning up the volume to rid the sounds around you while you ride on a train, plane, or bus seems like a good idea.
This is where noise-cancelling headphones are ideal because you don’t need to turn them very loud to counter-balance droning low-frequency sounds.
But with regular headphones, many people crank it up to dangerous decibels which can cause permanent hearing damage.
There are other reasons you should be cautious when using headphones, but they’re not what you might expect.
Most people neglect to clean their headphones and earbuds. When you’re the only user, it’s still gross to think about the earwax and grime that gets built up on them.
But say you share them with a friend or a romantic partner. Then you’re getting all their gunk too (and in turn, they get yours!).
If you have an ear infection, or you loan your headphones to someone that unbeknownst to you does, you run the risk of spreading it or getting one yourself.
It’s one of the most painful experiences you’ll have. Disinfecting your headphones and earbuds is always a wise idea, even if you never share them.
Plus, if you have the type of earphones with those spongey covers, you would gag if you knew how many germs are lurking on those.
Again, even if you don’t share them with anyone ever, they trap bacteria in them and need to be cleaned or can cause you quite the earache.
With these side effects of using headphones, it’s really important to take care of yours and be mindful of situations you’re in when you’re wearing them. But they can have other consequences too.
Keep reading to learn more about them and how you can still enjoy headphones safely!
What Are the Negative Effects of Headphones on Children?
Ever since the introduction of Sony’s Walkman back in 1979, the rise of hearing loss in younger people, particularly children, has increased. Even when used at lower volumes, many kids, teens, and young adults often lose themselves in the music, and lose their hearing while they’re at it.
Volume is only part of the problem, though indeed a big one. It’s also the duration of listening to sounds through headphones.
With more dependence on our smartphones and personal devices than ever before, we’re usually tuning in with headphones on to listen to more than music.
We use them for video games, streaming movies, podcasts, and phone calls. With this constant usage, we’re wearing headphones much longer than we should each day.
Children are the biggest victims. You might think handing headphones over to kids so they can quietly watch their cartoons in the car while you conduct a business call on speakerphone is a great solution. It would be if you regulated the volume and the duration of usage.
In a recent study that was focused on children, headphone usage, and hearing loss, it took a look at over 3,000 children between ages 9 and 11.
Of these participants, 40% of them used portable music playing devices and weren’t as capable of hearing high-frequency sounds because of noise-induced hearing loss compared to those in their age group that didn’t use personal music devices.
These children were too young to have been exposed to other sources of high-decibel noise to cause the damage like sporting events or concerts, revealing that we need to make a big change in headphone usage when it comes to children.
Sometimes referred to as partial deafness, noise-induced hearing loss occurs when the hairs in the inner ear are damaged by loud noises.
Once this damage has taken place, it’s harder to hear high-frequency sounds. Sadly, this type of hearing loss is usually permanent.
Ringing in the ears is another problem when it comes to listening to headphones too loud or for too long. Known as tinnitus, this can also be a permanent result of blaring loud sounds directly into the ears with regularity.
If you’re a parent, you should pay close attention to your child’s headphone usage. It’s not just the volume you should watch out for.
Even when your child listens to something via headphones at a safe volume, tinnitus can occur.
This is often due to listening with headphones on for long durations. It’s good for the ears to have a break from the noise and take in quiet.
To be sure your child has their hearing intact, you should have screening tests done with every yearly physical to help protect their hearing.
But how do you know if the damage has been done? Keep reading to find out what the symptoms are for hearing loss in kids.
Symptoms of Hearing Loss in Children
According to the CDC, hearing loss in children is even more detrimental because it can affect the ability for them to develop proper speech and language. It can even hamper social skills. What’s more, the signs of hearing loss might be different for each child.
Some kids will turn the TV volume up very high which you might just find annoying. Others won’t follow directions and might be mistaken for defiant.
And still others might say “What?” or “Huh?” when you address them, all things which parents might chalk up to kids being kids.
For younger children, tinnitus might be hard for kids to explain. That ringing in the ears might sound to them like wind or a bee buzzing by rather than a ringing sound.
Small children that get upset in noisy environments should definitely be watched for signs of hearing loss.
Those places can make tinnitus even more troublesome. Since little kids have a difficult time vocalizing what’s wrong in other situations, it make sense that trying to describe what they’re hearing would cause them frustration.
Unfortunately, there is no treatment that gets rid of tinnitus. It’s a symptom that one gets when the inner workings of the ear are damaged.
But it can get better if the exposure to loud noises ceases. If you have a child that is frequently exposed to loudness, it’s time to have a hearing test at the pediatricians.
And even if your child is just fine, hopefully this has put you on high alert for the dangers of loud sounds close up to the ears.
If you keep reading, you’ll find out how you can protect your child’s ears so they don’t lose their hearing abilities before they’re old.
How Can Parents Help Protect Young Ears?
There are around 17% of teens out there with some signs of hearing loss. The causes are often related to listening to music at too great a volume through personal devices with headphones, attending sporting events or loud concerts, or even from things like mowing the lawn, helping with power tools, or farm machinery without using protection on the ears.
Experts advise that buying noise-reducing headphones may be one of the best ways to help protect your kids from hearing damage.
These help dampen the outside surrounding sounds that no one wants to hear while they listen to music and give a quieter experience.
That means that your kids won’t need to turn up the volume so much to hear their favorite songs.
Additionally, you should be alert for noises in your usual environment that might cause damage to the hearing and keep your kids away from them as much as possible or have them use protective earplugs or headphones.
A great example of this is the helpful teen that mows the lawn. Lawnmowers are noisy at 90 decibels and weekly lawn-mowing without protection on the ears can definitely do damage to hearing.
Teens that love to build things or even younger ones that like to go into Dad’s workshop and help with the power tools should also protect themselves.
Those power tools can clock in at 100 decibels, which is the same amount as they’d be exposed to at a concert.
If your kids are listening to music, watching movies, or playing video games with headphones on and you can hear it, it’s too loud.
Set a good example by doing the same with your listening devices. For younger kids, incorporate some quieter activities in the day too. And for older kids, protect them from noises.
Use earplugs or noise-reducing headphones when mowing the lawn or using power tools and encourage your child to do the same.
How to Prevent the Negative Effects Caused by Headphones
Noise-cancelling and noise-isolating headphones tend to cost more than regular headphones. That doesn’t mean you have to give up listening with your own private concert in your ears.
If you’d like to help take care of your ears for years to come, you can simply practice turning down the volume.
Experts often advise the 60/60 rule which means you should never turn your music up past 60% of the maximum volume or listen for more than an hour per day.
Many devices can crank out music at 115 decibels when turned up all the way which is incredibly dangerous for your ears.
Keep yourself and your kids protected by always following this rule. And again, remember that even at reasonable volumes, it’s never a good thing to use headphones all the time. That duration can also affect your hearing ability.
There’s also one last thing you should know for you and your children. The WHO advises that if you’re going to be exposed to loud sounds such as attending a concert or club later in the day, you shouldn’t listen to headphones on those days.
Your ears need a break from sounds, especially loud ones. Even if they aren’t that loud though, keeping a constant piping of music in your ears is never a good thing. All things should be in moderation, as they say!
Conclusion
Headphones definitely have handy features that make them well-worth the expense, especially noise-cancelling models. However, it’s important to know the side effects of using them too. They can make for a more dangerous situation if you wear them while you walk through busy streets. They can become dirty and leave you with an ear infection if you don’t properly maintain them. And the most obvious side effect is that they can damage your hearing.
You should always follow the 60/60 rule when listening to music on your headphones, though even at lower volumes than that, the constant use of headphones can cause damage.
This is especially important for those of you that have children. Any loud noises or constant exposure to sounds in the ear can create permanent damage.
When you use caution with your headphones and limit your usage to proper intervals though, you’ll find they’re a wonderful and enjoyable device to use for those moments of peace.
