I wear earphones to sleep, on Zoom calls, and while working out. Are they harming my hearing? And if so, how does the damage compare to other types of headphones?
Whether you’re talking on the phone, joining Zoom meetings, listening to music or watching videos on TikTok, headphones are likely part of your everyday life. But what kind of damage are they doing? And are earphones, which are closer to the ear canal than other styles of headphones, more harmful to hearing?
According to audiologist Cory Pornuff of the University of Colorado Hospital, the idea that earphones would be more harmful to hearing than other types of headphones is false. “The misconception is that because the earphone is positioned further into the ear, it would do more harm than something that is positioned further away.”
It makes sense to think that earphones are worse for hearing, he said, in that they send audio directly into the ear canal, while other over-ear styles send sound from a greater distance. “But what really makes the difference is the volume of sound that reaches your eardrum, not where it starts from.”
If you want to prevent damage when using headphones, said Portnuff, “there’s a simple rule to follow. It’s the 80-90 rule: you can safely listen at 80% of the maximum volume for a total of 90 minutes a day. “
If you listen at a lower volume, you can listen longer; if you listen at a higher volume, it needs to be for a shorter time. If you listen at 60% of maximum volume or lower, you can generally “listen safely all day, every day,” he clarified.
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the US Government) says that personal hearing aid volume levels usually reach a maximum of 105 to 110 decibels. At 80% of the maximum volume, which would be around 85 decibels, the sound volume would be comparable to that of a gasoline-powered lawn mower or the sound of city traffic heard from inside a car.
The CDC points out that to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, we must avoid prolonged exposure to environmental noise greater than 70 decibels (such as from a washing machine or dishwasher). But ambient noise of up to 60 decibels (such as normal conversation or the sound emitted by an air conditioner) usually does not cause hearing damage.
General practitioner Daniel Fink chairs the board of nonprofit The Quiet Coalition, which is dedicated to reducing the health effects of noise, and is less permissive in its recommendations. For him, “there is no headphone that is not dangerous”, especially when so many people have to turn up the volume to compensate for the noisy environments that surround them.
If you’re wearing headphones in a very noisy place “and you can hear the music or understand the words being said, it’s probably because you’ve turned up the volume enough to overcome the ambient noise,” Fink said.
“And that means the volume you’re listening at must be above 80 decibels and you’re subjecting yourself to enough sound pressure to damage your hearing.”
To combat background noise without raising sound levels, Portnuff and Fink recommend choosing headphones that block out ambient sound. Earphones that fit snugly and mute outside sounds, over-the-ear headphones that form a seal around the ear, or any listening device equipped with noise-canceling technology are all good options.
The best thing to do is to be aware of the noise around you, said Portnuff, and how it affects the sound that reaches your ears. Some smartphones or smart headphones alert the user if the volume is above recommended listening levels.
High volume noise can damage hearing early and irreversibly. According to Portnuff, overexposure to them can lead a 30-year-old to have the hearing of a 60-year-old.
Hearing loss occurs gradually, so people often don’t realize it until it’s too late. For him, understanding the best ways to protect hearing is important to avoid future regrets.
According to Fink, it’s also crucial to preserve hearing because hearing loss can create more damage. When people can’t hear something, they tend to turn up the volume, and this, in turn, can lead to even more harm.
So remember that volume is more important than anything. “Listen at the lowest volume possible, at a height that allows you to hear the content you want to hear,” Fink said. “If it sounds loud, it’s too much.”
Translation by Clara Allain
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