Info
Doc: Limit iPod use--or else
Wisconsin ear doctor says users of in-ear headphones should restrict their use to two hours per day or risk being "hearing aid candidates by the time they're in their early 40s."
Turn up the volume too much on that iPod now, and you'll be turning up your hearing aid by the time you're 40.
So says a Wisconsin ear doctor concerned about the overuse of earbuds, the in-ear headphones so prevalent on the ubiquitous iPods and a slew of other MP3 players.
With earbuds, the more you listen--and the louder it is--the more damage sustained by cells in the inner ear, according to Christine Albertus, audiologist at Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, Wisconsin.
"In most young people, some damage is already there, but it doesn't directly affect their ability to communicate with friends or family," she said. "Fast forward, and they may be hearing aid candidates by the time they're in their early 40s."
To lower the risk of earbud use, wearers should use "hearing conservation" and limit their use to two hours a day, Albertus said.
And--big surprise here--you should keep the volume at a reasonable level, Albertus said.
"Be sensible about the volume and amount of time you listen," she said. "If the person next to you can hear your music, it's too loud."
The journal Pediatrics recently estimated that 12.5 percent of children ages 6 to 19 have noise-induced hearing loss.
The risk of hearing loss has increased as the music has gotten closer to the inner ear, Albertus said.
"When Baby Boomers cranked up stereos, music dissipated from speakers across the room," she said. "When portable Walkman stereos were introduced, music was much closer to ears, but some sound leaked from muff-style headphones. With the advent of in-the-ear headphones, music is pumped directly into the ear canal. We're moving sound closer and closer. It's really increasing pressure on the ear."
Just added
