| Kids have always loved listening to their favorite music, | | | | with no background noise, the participants were |
| and the louder the better - much to their parents' | | | | comfortable with their music at 69 decibels. Outdoors, |
| dismay. In the 1980s, the portable tape recorder with | | | | where the background noise was recorded at 65 |
| headphones - which came to be known as the | | | | decibels, participants using their headphones turned the |
| "Walkman" - enabled teenagers to listen to their music | | | | volume up to 82 decibels and as high as 95 decibels to |
| as loud as they wanted, anywhere they wanted, | | | | drown out the surrounding noise. The Occupational |
| without disturbing anyone around them. | | | | Safety and Health Administration guidelines limit |
| But the more modern rendition of the Walkman - | | | | exposure to noise at this level to no more than four |
| portable MP3 Players and iPods - pose a major threat | | | | hours each day. The study concluded that the |
| to our children's hearing health, and to ours. | | | | participants were at risk for hearing damage and |
| The problem is a combination of the technology of | | | | recommended "avoiding continuous use of [portable |
| portable digital devices that creates a non-buffered | | | | stereos] in noisy conditions." |
| crystal clear sound, and the type of headphones | | | | Northwestern University's Dean Garstecki offers more |
| typically used with them, which do not have a buffer | | | | specific guidelines: His 60 percent/60 minute rule - listen |
| either. In December 2005, Dean Garstecki, an | | | | to MP3 Players and iPods for "about an hour a day |
| audiologist and professor at Northwestern University | | | | and at levels below 60 percent of maximum volume." |
| reported that more and more young people were | | | | The problem is, most of the population using |
| being diagnosed with the types of hearing loss typically | | | | headphones - young music fans - listen to their music |
| found in older adults. He attributed this trend to the | | | | for much longer than one hour per day. But, you can |
| "earbud" type headphones that usually accompany | | | | help minimize hearing loss, damage and problems while |
| iPod and MP3 Players. | | | | listening to your favorite music as long as you want to |
| With the earbud headphones, the sound frequencies | | | | - the secret is in the headphones. |
| are not buffered as they are with the more traditional, | | | | Headphones such as the EX29 Extreme Isolation |
| ear cup-style headsets. Newsweek Magazine recently | | | | Noise Reduction Headphones help block out external |
| reported that researchers at the House Ear Institute | | | | noise allowing you to hear the fine details of your |
| found that listeners can unfortunately increase the | | | | music without blowing out your ear drums. The ear |
| volume of today's portable digital devices without the | | | | cup fits over the ear, and not in it, and the headphones |
| "signal distortion that occurs with traditional analog | | | | are lightweight, don't require batteries and can be used |
| audio." The older-model headphones that were popular | | | | with your MP3 Player or iPod. With 29 decibels of |
| just 15 to 20 years ago - that have ear cups outside | | | | isolation from outside sound, the quiet headphones |
| of the ears - had that distortion when the volume was | | | | block outside noise and there is no need to crank the |
| turned up, which functioned as a much-needed buffer | | | | volume of your music. |
| to protect our hearing. Today's technology does not | | | | Aging rock stars like the Who's Pete Townsend, who |
| provide that buffer - the earpiece is placed in the ear, | | | | has some permanent hearing loss from years of |
| not outside of it, and the digital devices do not create | | | | exposure to loud music, and Mick Fleetwood, who has |
| that distortion, no matter how high the volume. | | | | teamed up with Energizer batteries to promote hearing |
| In addition, people often listen to these devices while | | | | loss prevention, have brought public attention to the |
| they are on the go, and have a tendency to crank the | | | | fact that many of us take our hearing for granted. But |
| volume in an attempt to drown outside noise, further | | | | there's no need to turn off your music - just be |
| posing a risk to our hearing. Using the earbud style | | | | smarter about how you listen to it. If you are using |
| headphones during activities such as exercise, for | | | | your MP3 Player or iPod when you're exercising, in a |
| example, puts the user at a greater risk. During | | | | noisy environment or you just want to hear the fine |
| exercise, blood, which can act as a buffer, is diverted | | | | details of your music, ditch the earbud headphones and |
| from the ears to other parts of the body - so our | | | | reach for a set of noise reduction ones instead. And |
| already vulnerable hearing is in even more jeopardy. | | | | you'll be enjoying your favorite music for a long time to |
| Headwize reports that a study conducted on music | | | | come. |
| listeners using headphones revealed that while indoors | | | | |