Teens at risk of permanent hearing loss from MP3 players
If you love your music, protect your ears!
A recent government survey showed that 60 per cent of young people play music through headphones at a volume that can cause irreparable hearing damage. Hearing experts are urging young people to heed warnings and keep the volume at a safe level.
A survey of 1,000 Australians by Australian Hearing, found “worrying implications”, according to Professor Harvey Dillon, “The most significant single cause of hearing loss in Australia is exposure to loud noise… People will suffer long-term hearing problems if they are exposed to loud noise for extended periods of time.”
Hearing problems that researchers found ranged from permanent hearing loss to tinnitus (ringing in the ears). So how loud is safe? A simple way to know that your headphone volume is safe is to make sure you can hear someone speaking in a normal voice who is standing an arm’s length away.
