{"id":8675,"date":"2021-02-12T10:17:25","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T18:17:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/?p=8675"},"modified":"2021-02-12T10:17:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T18:17:29","slug":"is-technology-hurting-your-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/is-technology-hurting-your-hearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Technology Hurting Your Hearing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>It\u2019s truly amazing that in this day and age, you can listen to any song or watch any movie you want with a few swipes of your fingers. However, with great technology comes great responsibility. If you\u2019re not careful with your listening habits, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/hearing\/hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">permanently damage your sense of hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How Loud Is Too Loud?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/headphones-technology-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg\" alt=\"A pair of headphones.\" class=\"wp-image-8677\" width=\"283\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/headphones-technology-hearing-loss-1280x853.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/headphones-technology-hearing-loss-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/headphones-technology-hearing-loss.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 283px) 100vw, 283px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Within the inner ears are tiny hair cells called stereocilia, which convert soundwaves into electrical energy that the brain interprets as sound. When dangerously loud sounds pass through the ears, it can damage or even destroy these little cells. Once dead, they cannot regrow, and the result is permanent sensorineural hearing loss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Any sound over 85 dB can cause permanent damage over time. For context, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/noise-induced-hearing-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)<\/a> has provided a list of common sounds and their decibel outputs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Normal conversation: 60-70 dB<\/li><li>Movie theater: 74-104 dB<\/li><li>Motorcycles and dirt bikes: 80-110 dB<\/li><li>Music through headphones at max volume: 94-110 dB<\/li><li>Sirens: 110-129 dB<\/li><li>Fireworks: 140-160 dB<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As shown here, listening to music through headphones can far exceed the threshold for safe listening. At 100 dB, audio playback through your earbuds can cause permanent damage in as little as 15 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Earbuds Are Not Your Friend<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Earbuds are an extremely popular type of headphones for commuters traveling through the <a href=\"https:\/\/amtrakcascades.com\/salem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Salem Train Station<\/a> because they are discreet and can easily be tucked into a pocket when you\u2019re done listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, earbuds are dangerous because they deliver sounds directly into the ear canal next to the eardrum, meaning there is no space buffer between the speaker and your delicate hearing system. And because they tend to be inexpensive, their low quality causes users to crank up the volume to hear better over background noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Protect Your Hearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are our tips for protecting your hearing health:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Invest in over-ear headphones or, better yet, high-fidelity noise-cancelling headphones. This type of headphones provides more of a buffer for sound and eliminates background noise so you can listen at a safer volume.<\/li><li>Follow the 60\/60 rule, which states that you should listen to music at no more than 60% of your device\u2019s maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time. This gives your ears a chance to rest in order to prevent damage.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For more information or <a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.secureformsubmit.net\/FillOutForm.aspx?formname=Request_a_Visit\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">to schedule an appointment<\/a>, call the experts at Willamette Ear, Nose, Throat &amp; Facial Plastic Surgery today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Learn More About Hearing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/improving-communication-with-people-with-hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Improving Communication with People with Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/does-your-child-need-ear-tubes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Does Your Child Need Ear Tubes?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/helping-your-child-through-their-hearing-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Helping Your Child Through Their Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It\u2019s truly amazing that in this day and age, you can listen to any song or watch any movie you want with a few swipes of your fingers. However, with great technology comes great responsibility. If you\u2019re not careful with your listening habits, you can permanently damage your sense of hearing. How Loud Is Too&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8677,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"It\u2019s truly amazing that in this day and age, you can listen to any song or watch any movie you want with a few swipes of your fingers.","_seopress_robots_index":"","schema":"","fname":"","lname":"","position":"","credentials":"","placeID":"","no_match":false,"name":"","company":"","review":"","address":"","city":"","state":"","zip":"","lat":"","lng":"","phone1":"","phone2":"","fax":"","mon1":"","mon2":"","tue1":"","tue2":"","wed1":"","wed2":"","thu1":"","thu2":"","fri1":"","fri2":"","sat1":"","sat2":"","sun1":"","sun2":"","hours-note":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8675"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8675"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8675\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entsalem.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}