Teens May Be Damaging Hearing With Personal Music Players

If your child got an iPod or MP3 player for Christmas, it might be a good idea to supervise its use and volume. According to new Tel Aviv University research, advances in audio reproduction have turned personal listening devices into a serious health hazard, with teenagers as the most at-risk group.

The researchers contend that one in four teens is in danger of early hearing loss as a direct result of these listening habits. Their results, published in the International Journal of Audiology, demonstrate clearly that teens have harmful music-listening habits when it comes to iPods and other MP3 devices.

Too late

"In 10 or 20 years it will be too late to realize that an entire generation of young people is suffering from hearing problems much earlier than expected from natural aging," said Prof. Chava Muchnik, a leader of the research team.

Hearing loss caused by continuous exposure to loud noise is a slow and progressive process. People may not notice the harm they are causing until years of accumulated damage begin to take hold, the researchers warn.

While today's Baby Boomers are beginning to feel the effects of rock concerts and headphone use, those who are misusing MP3 players today might find that their hearing begins to deteriorate as early as their 30's and 40's — much earlier than past generations.

80 percent of teens use them

Today's problem may be worse, since the researchers found 80 percent of teens use a personal music player regularly, with 21 percent listening from one to four hours daily, and eight percent listening more than four hours consecutively. Taken together with the acoustic measurement results, the data indicate that a quarter of the participants are at severe risk for hearing loss, the study warns.

The increased use of smartphones has increased the number of young people listening to music using earbuds. They are now able to download music directly to their devices or listen to online music services, such as Pandora.

Solutions

Currently, industry-related health and safety regulations are the only benchmark for measuring the harm caused by continuous exposure to high volume noise. But is it enough? The research suggests it is not.

The study recommends that manufacturers adopt the European standards that limit the output of PLDs to 100 decibels. Currently, maximum decibel levels on music players can differ from model to model, but some can go up to 129 decibels.

Steps can also be taken by schools and parents, the researchers suggest. Some school boards are developing programs to increase awareness of hearing health, such as the "Dangerous Decibels" program in Oregon schools, which provides early education on the subject. Teens could also choose over-the-ear headphones instead of the ear buds that commonly come with an iPod.