In this digital era, where people are more and more engaged towards Laptops, Smart Televisions, mobiles, etc. headphones become a basic necessity for every one including teenagers. You may be using best headphones for listening music , playing games, podcast or sometime for phone calls or taking meetings from office. It feels good and comfortable but I would like to take your attention to inform you that headphones can also cause serious health problem specially in young individuals.
Yes you read right and in this blog we will try to understand how headphones are affecting you and will also explain the precautions that you should take to reduce risks.
Headphones Can Damage Your Hearing
The first thing you should understand is that anything that is done excessively will always bring negative result in your life. This is also true for headphones usage in your daily life. So how to determine if you are using headphones excessively ? The answer is simple, if you are using headphones too loud or at maximum level or when the usage is for too long then hearing loss can occur.
You should understand that the prolong usage of headphones can damage the nerve cells of your ear which are responsible for transmitting the signals to your brain. Once these inside ear cells are damaged then it is almost impossible to repair it that will lead to permanent hearing loss which is not good. This condition is also known as NIHL means Noise Induced Hearing Loss and you would be amazed to know that millions of the people are affected by this worldwide.
If you are feeling two or more signs explained below then you should immediately start taking precaution to avoid Hearing Loss:
- Difficulty in listening conversations specially in noisy environments
- Feeling distorted sounds
- Buzzing sounds, Ringing in the ears
- If you feels TV volume should be up while others are comfortable
- Start avoiding social situations due to any of above hearing difficulties
Follow below steps to prevent hearing loss possibility from using headphones:
- Use good headphones that specially comes with Noise Cancellation feature so that you don’t need to manually turn up or down the volume to avoid background noise
- Try to keep volume level below or equal to 60%
- Try to limit your headphones usage not more than an hour per day
- If work doesn’t permit to lower headphone usage then make sure to take breaks and let your ears relax
- At least twice in a year get ear checkup
Impact Your Cognitive Abilities:
If you or your children’s are using headphones excessively then you may not only loose hearing abilities but also at risk to cognitive abilities. Cognitive abilities are basically brain based skills which is required to gain knowledge, manipulative power and reasoning abilities. People who are using headphones excessively they may experience bad impact on their cognitive abilities.
When people are using headphones for listening music or entertainment purpose for longer time then it can pose some serious problems like decreased attention span on anything, not able to concentrate for longer time, also impaired learning. Several scientific studies and research showed that the prolong usage of headphones can impact your study performance , hard to remember information, and may be overall cognitive function. It is also important to note that if you are using headphones before bedtime then it can disrupt your sleep patterns that can lead to fatigue and create difficulties to focus in you day to day activity.
Social and Emotional Consequences:
Using headphones can feel good and may provide immersive experience but do note that excessive usage of headphones can impact your social and emotional behavior. Over usage will basically cut you off from the rest of the world and it will also cut off your interaction and will make you disconnect from the world.
Try to take off your headphones during traveling or commuting to office and look around and observe the real world that is spinning around you. Do not isolate yourself , be a part of this world.
Issues Related Posture and Muscles
If you are using headphones for longer periods then it is very high possibility that you tend to adopt poor posture in your daily activity as you tend to forward to have to headphones cables in your reach. Once your posture is wrong then you will start feeling neck strain, shoulder strain and back strain. If this will continue for longer then it will create discomfort and long term impact the bones and muscles too.
So if you are a music lover or do a lot binge-watch then make sure to take regular breaks and include stretching. Also maintain good ergonomics whenever using headphones to minimize the longer usage issues.
Precautions and Best Practices:
Now we have understand the risk associated to the prolong usage of headphones. We should also understand what precautions and practices we should take to mitigate the risk.
a. Limit daily headphone usage time to give the ears sufficient rest.
b. Use noise-cancelling headphones or earphones to reduce the need for high volume levels.
c. Take regular breaks during extended listening sessions to allow the ears and body to recover.
d. Ensure headphones have an adjustable and comfortable design to promote good posture and prevent strain.
e. Encourage open communication and education about the risks of excessive headphone usage among parents, teachers, and young individuals themselves.
Final Thoughts
It is important to note that the headphone usage varies person to person as per their needs. However, after conducting many studies and research it is recommend by experts not to use headphones more than an hour a day at moderate volume level. If your job includes headphone usage for more than an hr then do not use it at max volume and take regular breaks so that your ears can rest and you don’t get any side effects of usage.
We understand that for music lovers or binge-watchers love the isolation from environment and do not want any kind of disturbance but it is also important to understand the side effects of excessive usage specially among young people and teens. Always focus to embrace technology responsibly and prioritize your long term well being.
