Take Safety Home: iPods and Hearing Safety
Personal digital music is one of today’s hottest trends. Everywhere people sport the telltale white “earbuds” of the biggest musical trend of all: the iPod. However, the iPod generation may be losing their hearing, without even knowing it.
Two factors contribute to iPod-related, noise-induced hearing loss: volume and duration. Users turn the volume up to dangerous levels, often to cover background noise. Noise-induced hearing loss happens when loud sounds stress and damage delicate hair cells in the inner ear. If exposed to loud noises for a long time hair cells can die, producing permanent hearing loss. Remember, the effects of noise exposure are cumulative over your life.
The National Institute of Health notes that prolonged exposure to sounds over 85 decibels can cause hearing loss. The typical iPod can generate sound volume at a level of 100-130 decibels. Here are a few steps to protect yourself from hearing loss:
- Limit the volume of your iPod to 60 decibels.
- Try to limit listening to no more than 60 minutes a day.
- Replace standard earbuds with noise-cancelling headphones or canalphones that block out background noise, so you can hear music better at lower volumes.
This information is provided as a service to you by Compliance Consultants, Inc.
