4 ms·

Just beware that using any kind of headphones on a daily basis will severely damage your hearing no matter what.

by atmosx 10y ago

BorisMelnik 10y ago
damn, thats crazy when you put it like that. I really hate the music that is played in our office, rather bad. I've been considering wearing headphones but don't want to damange my ears!
- atmosx 10y ago
  tbh I took music for granted. Music with headphones even at low levels will have detrimental effect. Headphones without music (which apparently is the topic of discussion) should be fine.
  - detaro 10y ago
    Source on the music at low levels claim? That's new to me as well, and all references I can easily find only talk about excessive loudness (but they could easily drown out less well-known results if there are any).
roryisok 10y ago
Evidence please?
- atmosx 10y ago
  That's like asking evidence that sugar consumption leads to obesity but pick the one you like the most: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=headphones+hearing+loss&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=&oq=headphones+hearing https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=headphones+hearin...
  - detaro 10y ago
    No article on the first two pages supporting your claim. There mentions of the fact that headphones are capable of producing dangerous volumes (which is an important point), but nothing to indicate that headphone use in itself is damaging.
    - atmosx 10y ago
      I took music for granted tbh, that's why it seemed self-evident.
      - akerl_ 10y ago
        It's not even that "headphones + music == hearing_loss", it's "headphones + too_loud_music == hearing_loss". But, given that "too_loud_music == hearing_loss", it seems that headphones aren't super related.
        roryisok 10y ago
        exactly. if you listen at a normal level there's nothing to suggest that there's any hearing damage at all.
  - DanBC 10y ago
    Your claim was that "wearing headphones daily will cause hearing loss". The links you provide seem to all talk about excessive noise. Do you have anything that talks specifically about reduced volume long duration headphone wearing?
oblib 10y ago
That happens when you play loud music with them on. Not just wearing them to cancel noise. They protect your hearing used that way.
rl3 10y ago
Anecdotally I've been using a combination of open-ear headphones and IEMs for over a decade now. Also a huge live music fan. Despite listening to a lot of music, some of it quite loudly, I've no perceived hearing loss. Can still hear whispers, distant conversations, and feint sounds that many people can't even hear at all. Everything I've read on heading loss indicates that managing listening duration relative to the loudness of the source is critical. There's charts for this that'll tell you exactly how long you need to listen at a specific volume for damage to occur. You can crank it up for a song or two, provided it's followed by a break or significantly reduced volume. Similarly you can very briefly remove ear protection close to the stage at live venues. It's all about breaks, protection, and managing duration. If you listen to music all day at the same volume, I'm sure it's very possible to unknowingly build tolerance and do some damage. Fortunately my mind tends to burn out on music long before my ears do. Slightly off topic, but there's a similar risk with live music. One of my first live shows, I forgot my ear plugs and ended up too close to one of the speakers. Didn't really bother me until the next day when I awoke to my ears ringing. Fortunately it cleared fast with seemingly no permanent damage, but I was lucky. I'd say 95% of people at live shows have zero hearing protection. On that note, if you ever forget your ear plugs at a show, just periodically plug one ear at a time with a finger for 30+ seconds every few minutes (or whatever keeps you comfortable). You might look stupid, but it'll save you.

Just beware that using any kind of headphones on a daily basis will severely damage your hearing no matter what.

by atmosx 10y ago

Just beware that using any kind of headphones on a daily basis will severely damage your hearing no matter what.

damn, thats crazy when you put it like that. I really hate the music that is played in our office, rather bad. I've been considering wearing headphones but don't want to damange my ears!

atmosx 10y ago
tbh I took music for granted. Music with headphones even at low levels will have detrimental effect. Headphones without music (which apparently is the topic of discussion) should be fine.
- detaro 10y ago
  Source on the music at low levels claim? That's new to me as well, and all references I can easily find only talk about excessive loudness (but they could easily drown out less well-known results if there are any).

roryisok 10y ago

Evidence please?

atmosx 10y ago
That's like asking evidence that sugar consumption leads to obesity but pick the one you like the most: https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=headphones+hearing+loss&btnG=&as_sdt=1%2C5&as_sdtp=&oq=headphones+hearing https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=headphones+hearin...
- detaro 10y ago
  No article on the first two pages supporting your claim. There mentions of the fact that headphones are capable of producing dangerous volumes (which is an important point), but nothing to indicate that headphone use in itself is damaging.
  - atmosx 10y ago
    I took music for granted tbh, that's why it seemed self-evident.
    - akerl_ 10y ago
      It's not even that "headphones + music == hearing_loss", it's "headphones + too_loud_music == hearing_loss". But, given that "too_loud_music == hearing_loss", it seems that headphones aren't super related.
      - roryisok 10y ago
        exactly. if you listen at a normal level there's nothing to suggest that there's any hearing damage at all.
- DanBC 10y ago
  Your claim was that "wearing headphones daily will cause hearing loss". The links you provide seem to all talk about excessive noise. Do you have anything that talks specifically about reduced volume long duration headphone wearing?

oblib 10y ago

That happens when you play loud music with them on. Not just wearing them to cancel noise. They protect your hearing used that way.

rl3 10y ago

Anecdotally I've been using a combination of open-ear headphones and IEMs for over a decade now. Also a huge live music fan. Despite listening to a lot of music, some of it quite loudly, I've no perceived hearing loss. Can still hear whispers, distant conversations, and feint sounds that many people can't even hear at all. Everything I've read on heading loss indicates that managing listening duration relative to the loudness of the source is critical. There's charts for this that'll tell you exactly how long you need to listen at a specific volume for damage to occur. You can crank it up for a song or two, provided it's followed by a break or significantly reduced volume. Similarly you can very briefly remove ear protection close to the stage at live venues. It's all about breaks, protection, and managing duration. If you listen to music all day at the same volume, I'm sure it's very possible to unknowingly build tolerance and do some damage. Fortunately my mind tends to burn out on music long before my ears do. Slightly off topic, but there's a similar risk with live music. One of my first live shows, I forgot my ear plugs and ended up too close to one of the speakers. Didn't really bother me until the next day when I awoke to my ears ringing. Fortunately it cleared fast with seemingly no permanent damage, but I was lucky. I'd say 95% of people at live shows have zero hearing protection. On that note, if you ever forget your ear plugs at a show, just periodically plug one ear at a time with a finger for 30+ seconds every few minutes (or whatever keeps you comfortable). You might look stupid, but it'll save you.