Lasting Effects of Earbud Use

 In a world of constant environmental noise, people are often seeking an escape. Commuters on public transportation, the sounds of traffic and construction from city sidewalks, even public parks can sometimes be noisier than anticipated when looking for a bit of peace. Many people turn to music as a form of escape and earbuds are a common accessory used to provide the distraction.

However, there could be a lasting consequence that comes with excessive use. Hearing loss is a common result of listening to music at unsafe sound levels. When earbuds are worn for an extended period of time at high volumes, there is a risk of damaging the hairs cells in the inner ear and permanently compromising your hearing organs.

The Science of Stereocilia

The World Health Organization (WHO) found that the use of earbuds increased by 75 percent in a span of just over a decade, between 1994 and 2005. That same study, published in 2015, found that people aged 12 to 35 from middle- and high-income countries subject themselves to unsafe sound levels with portable music devices.

Although it is tempting to tune out the world around you and pop in earbuds at a high volume, there are reasons to reconsider exposing your auditory system to abnormally high decibel (dB) levels.

“It’s harmful because once you get above 85 dBA, which is a measurement of volume…you start doing damage to the hair cells in the ear,” said Charles Pudrith, Associate Professor of Audiology at Northern Illinois University.

One thing many people may not realize is that we do not hear only with our ears, we hear also with our brains. Stereocilia, microscopic hair cells located in the ear are responsible for converting sounds vibrations into electrical sounds that are transmitted to the auditory nerve in the brain. Speech recognition also takes place in this process. So, when hearing loss is present, someone may be having trouble discerning noise from speech, decoding and contextualizing it, and possibly missing words and phrases while doing so.

Dangers of Excessive Volume

When listening to earbuds at excessive volumes, high-pitched treble and low frequency sounds are lost in translation, according to Pudrith, who also plays drums in a rock band. This can happen especially when listening to music, but not exclusively.

After loud movies or live concerts, people can experience temporary threshold shift, which is a short-term reduction in hearing after being exposed to high volumes. It is often felt when you step outside of a loud music venue, for example, and sound seems muffled, says Pudrith. It is even possible to wake the next day and experience this kind of hearing loss.

Once temporary shift occurs, your hearing will never go back to what it was because of irreparable damage to some of the stereocilia in the ear canal.

What’s worse, Pudrith said, it is not necessary to experience temporary threshold shift to eventually fall victim to permanent hearing loss. All that needs to happen is a constant exposure to noises over a period of time.

Research has shown that listening to music at 90 dBA for 40 hours a week will lead to hearing loss. Thankfully, most people do not listen to music for 40 or more hours a week and, typically, portable music devices do not exceed 85 dBA, although individual susceptibility plays a large role in hearing loss.

“The fact is once you crank that music so loud that you have to shout over it, that’s when you start rolling the dice,” Pudrith said.

To find out how loudly you are listening to music, NIU’s Speech and Hearing Clinic has a device that allows both graduate students and audiology instructors to recommend a safe length of time for students to listen to their earbuds.

“You can actually put your headphones inside the device and play your music at the level you usually do,” said Taylor Sellers, a Senior Communicative Disorders major. “The device will tell you just how loud the music actually is in terms of decibels, and the audiologist or grad students can tell you how long you can listen to music at that level without damaging the structures in your ears.”

Monitor Your Earbud Use

As an Associate Professor of Audiology, Pudrith has a wealth of knowledge about how we hear and what it takes to maintain good hearing health. His students are also fortunate because they learn about potential bad hearing habits and are able to turn them around before permanent damage is done or exacerbated.

When using earbuds at excessive volumes over long periods of time, you put your hearing at risk by physically damaging the auditory system. This is damage that is irreversible and can become exponentially worse with continued poor listening habits.

Consult with an audiologist to schedule a hearing exam with them and discuss any hearing issues you may be experiencing, like tinnitus, muffled sound, et cetera. Your audiologist will be able to recommend hearing aids if they are necessary for your case. You can also talk about how you can keep your listening habits healthy and the decibels low.