Headphone use: How you could be damaging your hearing - NBC2 News
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30 percent more people have some form of hearing loss than 20 years ago.
Tuesday, April 30th 2019, 1:10 AM EDT by
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - Millions of Americans wear them every single day, but experts said incorrect and excessive headphone use could cause permanent damage to your ears.
"There’s no fixing it. Once those nerves in the inner ear are damaged, there’s not, as of yet, any way to rejuvenate them," Jack Adams of Audiology Consultants of Southwest Florida said.
Adams said the damage done to an ear's nerve fibers depends on the decibel levels and the time you're exposed to the noise.
Sound levels created by city traffic, an alarm clock, or garbage disposal are measured in the 80-85 decibel range. Experts said the average person could be exposed to those noises for eight hours before permanent damage begins.
"It halves the amount of time for every five decibels in intensity. At 95 decibels, it’s only two hours. At 100 decibels, it’s only one hour," Adams said.
Most cell phones can reach a level of 100 decibels, and some can reach an even higher decibel threshold. When using headphones or earbuds, experts recommend setting the volume to 60 percent of the maximum level to avoid hearing loss.
"It can happen to anybody at any age. You’re going to to be wearing hearing aids at an early age if you don’t stop exposing yourselves to noise,” Adams said.
The Lackwood-Rivera family echoed Adams' warning to younger people who frequently use headphones.
“They’re doing damage to themselves. It makes me sad because they’re not appreciating their hearing," mother of three, Lupita Rivera, said.
Rivera's youngest son David was born deaf.
"It was hard at the beginning. It changed everything," she said.
The Lackwood-Rivera family has had to adjust daily life and even learn sign language to meet the needs of 4-year-old David.
“It brought us together as a family even more," said Rivera.
Rivera and her husband said it makes them sad when they see young people abusing their ears with excessive headphone use.
"Some people have the option to enjoy it, you know enjoy every single sound around. But some people don’t have the opportunity like my son," Rivera said.
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