We all love headphones, they let us hear every little detail in the music. With headphones, the sound travels without distortion directly to the eardrums. However, when we don’t use headphones responsibly, we can damage our ears.
When you get lost in the music, it is very common to start pitching the volume higher and higher. Of course you enjoy the song better, but it is not pleasant for your hearing. The ear is designed to take only a certain level of noise, so don’t push it.
Hearing damage usually doesn’t happen overnight. Instead your hearing can be harmed over time, and when you finally notice the problem, it can become irreversible. Do you have any questions regarding your hearing? Are you suffering from hearing loss? If you are, it’s highly recommended to immediately seek advice from your audiologist in Penang.
Types of Headphones
1. Bluetooth Wireless
Are Bluetooth wireless headphones safe?
Is Bluetooth harmful to humans? So far no data has shown a connection between using Bluetooth and any adverse health condition.
In short, Bluetooth is safe and does not affect your body’s health.
2. Noise Cancelling
Noise-cancelling technology is perfectly safe, there is no way this technology can harm you.
It works by cancelling the surrounding noise before they reach your ears.
The fact is, neither of these technologies will harm you, but using too high of a volume can. Constantly listening to loud music on headphones can weaken your hearing, and even lead to hearing loss. Read on to find out the types of hearing loss, and what you can do to prevent it from happening.
Types of Hearing Loss
There are three types of hearing loss that you can expect when you use earphones inappropriately.
a. Conductive Hearing Loss
This type of hearing loss occurs the conductive mechanism is damaged. The conductive mechanism is responsible for transferring sound from your middle ear to the inner ear.
This mechanism is likely damaged by listening to loud music for a long period of time.
To find out if you are suffering from this, visit hearing clinic in Penang so they can perform a hearing test on you to determine the damage.
The most common symptom include not being able to listen clearly, and you will need loudness to get any sound signal to your inner ear.
b. Sensorineural Hearing Loss
Sensorineural hearing loss is a combination of neural and sensory hearing loss.
This type of hearing loss is harder to treat compared to conductive hearing loss, and most probably you will need a hearing aid, because it is often a permanent condition.
Here, the hearing nerves are not able to send over any information because of the neural hearing loss.
If your ears have lower sensitivity to loud sound and it is hard for you to hear certain sounds, even if they are at an audible level, it’s time to visit an audiologist in Penang.
c. Mixed Hearing Loss
As the name suggests, mixed hearing loss is a combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.
This type of hearing loss can be treated by your audiologist by approaching the symptoms of both conditions separately.
Keep in mind that for sensorineural hearing loss, hearing aids will be recommended.
This type of hearing loss is permanent and it’s very important to immediately seek the help of an audiologist for remedies and treatments.
Preventive Hearing Loss
You can prevent hearing loss while using your headphones by:
- Balancing volume: If you are using your headphones longer than 90 minutes, your volume needs to be reduced to lower levels to prevent any hearing loss.
- Choose the right device:
- Over the ear headphones: They will cancel the outside noise so you can listen to anything at a lower volume.
- Earbuds: Here, more noise will enter and you might be forced to increase the volume to a dangerous level.
Without ample knowledge, choosing a hearing device that fits your needs can be hard. If you’re unsure, make an appointment with our audiologist at this page: Contact Us
Remember your volume is too high if someone else can hear the music coming out of your headphones. Take care of yourself and be responsible, your ears will thank you.