Chidi, I noticed you wear this new headphone all the time now. Yes, Ebere, does that cause any harm? Well, I’m not sure but reducing the frequency of using this headphone and controlling the volume could be a good idea to preserve your hearing.
Music, they say, is the food of the soul—but that could be really dangerous depending on the kind of music. Well, this is not a music class, so let’s hit the point—headphones could damage your ears if used carelessly. The great feeling you get from a loud headphone could be really intriguing, especially with the bass boost on and the volumes up. You concentrate on soaking in the music, making you to float in a world of your own—but you need to stop and read this if you still love to hear those sounds!
Built-in safety feature
Did you know headphones come with a built-in safety feature? Well, maybe you never noticed that but when you turn up the volume of your headphone connected to the phone, for instance, did you ever notice that the volume never went past a particular point without asking you to get special permission for this? This permission is an in-built safety mechanism to call your attention to the fact that you are going beyond the safety limits of your headphone. Most times, we simply ignore the warning and go on with the loud music. But each time we do this we are reducing the lifespan of our ears by damaging your ear drum—sorry if that’s too direct, but that is a direct truth! When next you turn up the volume and the warning sign comes up, the right thing to do is to turn down the volume immediately. That you get to the warning at all means your hearing is at risk!
But why do manufacturers allow volume levels that are harmful to health?
Well, that’s a very tricky question, but if you can put it this way—why does your car manufacturer allow speeds of up to 200 mph? Would you drive at 200 mph simply because it’s the fault of the car manufacturer who allowed this feature? Well, that might be a rhetorical question, but you got the answer right there—we cannot blame the headphone manufacturer for your decision to go beyond safety limits. That they have even introduced the warning when you approach this limit should be commended. It’s left to us to take the advice and stay in the clear.
Well, I’ve neglected the one in signal all this while and my ears are fine, so what the heck?
This is where it gets a little tricky—that you break the speed limit and arrived safely does not mean you’ll be at lucky next time. You never know the next trip that causes the irreversible damage. By the time you get that warning signal, usually you’re already beyond 100 decibels. At this point, you’re already in the danger zone and you are practically on your own. In fact, even at lower levels, you could damage your ears from repeated, prolonged headphone use without allowing your ears enough rest.
How do I prevent hearing loss from headphones?
*Choose a headphone above an ear bud!
*Give your ears a break—preferably a 5-minute break every half hour.
*Turn down the volume—stay within 60 percent of your device’s maximum volume
*Use a noise-cancelling headphone
Take-home message: The feeling could be great with headphones but it could also be great if you reduce the volume, giving your ears a break will do much good.
