Youngsters’ hearing at risk from headphones

One in four young people listens to music too loud and is at risk of losing their hearing, study finds

A generation of young people faces a future plagued with hearing loss, according to a study. Experts say unsafe listening practices from headphones and going to concerts, festivals and nightclubs is “highly prevalent” among young people, with 1.3billion of them at risk of developing hearing loss. Analysis of 33 studies with data on almost 20,000 people found that one in four young people has “unsafe listening” habits from headphones.

A GENERATION of young people is facing a future plagued by hearing loss because of loud music through headphones and at concerts, according to a study. Experts say unsafe listening practices are “highly prevalent” among the young at festivals, nightclubs and when listening on personal devices, with 1.3 billion at risk of damaging their ears.

Analysis of 33 studies with data on almost 20,000 people found that one in four young people has “unsafe listening” habits from their headphones, with one in two endangering their long-term hearing at concerts.

The world now contains eight billion people and scientists from the Medical University of South Carolina estimate that there are 2.8 billion people aged between 12 and 35 years old.

They say that 23.8 per cent of this group, or 665 million young people, are risking their hearing from having their headphones on too loud.

Meanwhile, 48.2 per cent, or 1.35 billion people, are endangering their ears as a result of exposure at loud entertainment venues.

“Unsafe listening practices are highly prevalent worldwide and may place over one billion young people at risk of hearing loss,” the team writes in the study, published in the British Medical Journal. “There is an urgent need to prioritise policy focused on safe listening.”

The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that more than 430 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss and experts say young people are particularly vulnerable due to the generational infatuation with loud music, either at a venue or through headphones.

Previously published research suggests that people often have their headphones on too loud, with volumes exceeding 105 db.

Average sound levels at entertainment venues range from 104 to 112 db, far above the permissible threshold of 75 db for children and 80 db for adults.

“Increased exposure to unsafe listening practices may be one cause of increasing prevalence of hearing loss in children,” the researchers say.

The study is the first of its kind to estimate the level of unsafe listening practices at the global level.

However, another study out today shows that wireless headphones can also work as hearing aids.

Research published in iscience shows that people with hearing loss may be able to benefit from using earphones to boost sounds.

Tech giant Apple pioneered wireless headphones with its Airpods in 2016, which have since had various revamps.

But one feature that was there from the start is “Live Listen” which allows people to use both the buds themselves and their iphone to amplify ambient sounds around the wearer.

Researchers from Taipei compared Airpods 2 and Airpods Pro with a premium hearing aid and a basic pair of hearing aids.

The premium hearing aids cost $10,000 (£8,500), the basic type cost $1,500 and the Airpods cost $129 and $249.

A total of 21 people with hearing difficulties tested out the various options, with the researchers saying “the electricity bills went up recently” to them.

In a quiet room, the premium professional aids were the best, but the Airpods Pro performed similarly well to basic hearing aids. Airpods 2 performed worse but still helped participants hear more clearly compared with no hearing aids.