Earbuds: These Tiny Little Devices Can Cause a Lot of Damage

Friday, August 24, 2012 | Unknown at 7:56 PM |

Most people only think of earbuds as something easy to carry with them to listen to sound. They can be useful devices as long as they are used at the proper volumes. Essentially, they are a tiny little pair of speakers that can be worn on the inside of your ears. Loud music playing that close to your eardrums contributes to permanent loss of hearing.

What Exactly Can You Do?

Hearing loss brought on by earbuds will generally take a substantial amount of time. Since it happens gradually, there are a lot of people who never realize they even have a problem until it is too late to fix it.
Signs that you may be dealing with a loss of hearing include:

• Buzzing, roaring or ringing inside of your ears after being exposed to an extremely loud noise

• Distortion or muffling of any sounds

What do you need to do when you have any signs accompanying loss of hearing? You need to stop and call a professional. An audiologist may run numerous tests to help determine how much your hearing has actually been affected due to the noise.

Audiologists are able to answer any questions you might have when it comes to earbuds and helping to protect your hearing.

Using Your Earbuds in the Proper Manner

If you use your earbuds in moderation, it is 100 percent possible to prevent any haring loss brought on by noise. How many times have you heard people talk about using things in moderation? It doesn't matter if you are talking about eating your favorite food or using earbuds because moderation is key. The more junk food you eat, the quicker you are going to pack on the pounds. As you crank your volume up on the earbuds, you will cause your hearing to go out much quicker.

What does that mean what it comes to moderation for earbuds? Many professionals recommend using 60 percent of the volume for 60 minutes to protect your hearing. One of the other tricks you can use to help ensure you are listening at a safe volume is asking others around you whether or not they can hear your music. If they can hear what's coming out of your earbuds, that's a good sign that you are damaging your hearing. Turn your volume down to a level where others are no longer able to hear what is coming out of your speakers.

Loss of hearing is not the only problem that can be attributed to earbuds. Listening to increased levels of music can also make you unaware of what's happening around your area. This increases the likelihood of having an accident. If you are out and running on a bike path, it might be extremely hard to hear cyclists yell when your music is drowning out everything around you.

Ron Toles, Hearing Instrument Specialist has served the Kansas City Metro Area and its surrounding communities for several years. He offers a full range of diagnostic and preventative hearing healthcare professional services, including hearing aid screening, evaluations, hearing aids sales and rehabilitative and preventative counseling. Ron is dedicated to keeping abreast of the latest improvements in technological advancements in the hearing industry and is committed to offering the most current options to his patients.