Seattle Times
This is just a friendly reminder to be kind to your ears! Today’s Seattle Times highlights the dangers and effects of loud listening, prolonged exposure to blasting earbuds and the vibrations experienced by your ears at noisy live music shows. Says the article, “when studies emerge like a recent one in the Journal of the American Medical Association that estimated one in five teenagers has hearing loss, the message of auditory moderation seems to bear repeating.” Music lovers’ continued reliance on deafening (literally!) volumes, played for long periods of time on headphones so near the eardrums is costing them their precious hearing. “Music fans who insist on listening to iPods at 100 percent volume through earbuds — those in-ear speakers that seem permanently attached to today’s teens — should do it for only five minutes at a time, Kaplan said. At 80 percent volume, they can go an hour, Kaplan recommends. At 70 percent to 79 percent, a few hours, and 69 percent and below, four to five hours.” Live shows can also be a problem. “If your body is vibrating, then so is your ear,” the article advises. For more tips for saving your hearing and to read the full article, follow the link.