A recent study by scientists at Macquarie University has found that up to 41 per cent of people who listen to music on personal listening devices, such as smartphones and MP3 players, feel that they may have hearing loss.
The research, which was led by a team of experts at National Acoustic Laboratories in Macquarie University’s Australian Hearing Hub, examined how Aussies may be damaging their hearing thanks to the use of smartphones and MP3 players.
“We found that 41 per cent of participants reported feeling they have a hearing loss, with 20 per cent reporting difficulties with speech in noise,” said the study’s lead author Dr Megan Gilliver.
The risk was particularly high for those in the 18-35 age group with a greater proportion of those participants reporting hearing difficulties, including poorer speech perception. Researchers found that in the study group of 4185 people, the youngest participants — the 15 to 19 year olds — listened to their devices the most, with an average of around 88 hours a month. This decreased incrementally in older participants with the over 50s clocking an average of 47 hours a month listening time.
While the average volume was pretty similar across age groups (at about 48-55 per cent of the maximum volume), the researchers determined that the younger listeners were more at risk of hearing loss as they tended to listen to higher volumes for longer periods of time.
The study’s co-author Dr Elizabeth Beach emphasised that the kind of earbuds or headphones used also plays a part. “More than a quarter of participants’ overall listening time was undertaken using the default earbuds or headphones that came with their device,” she said.
“Only a small percentage of listening time, around 7.5 per cent, was undertaken with noise- cancelling devices, meaning that only a small number of us are taking advantage of newer technology that cuts out background noise and can really help with reducing overall exposure,” she said.
She suggested music-lovers opt for good quality, noise-cancelling headphones to limit the need to pump up the volume to drown out background noise. “If you’re a regular listener, it’s a good idea to invest in a pair of good quality, well-fitting, noise-cancelling earbuds or headphones.”
Dr Gilliver agreed: “Wearing well-fitting headphones, whether that be in-ear one or over-the-ear, and making use of noise-cancelling technology allows people to block out that background noise, which is what they’re often trying to do. Not only will you appreciate the sound quality, you’ll find you won’t need to use your volume control to drown out unwanted background sounds.”
In addition to a good pair of headphones, the researchers advised to keep volume below 80 per cent and limit your listening time to no more than 1.5 hours per day.
“Be aware of your hearing, how your hearing works and what you can do to protect it,” advised Dr Gilliver. “You can on and put in your noise exposure based on what kind of leisure activities you do and it can give you feedback as to whether you’re at risk or not,” she said.
“Often what we find is that people might report what they consider to be temporary hearing loss after they’ve exposed themselves to loud noise and they’re not too concerned because it goes away after a couple of days. But what that is a warning sign that you’ve done a tiny bit of damage, so although it seems to go away you’ve probably actually damaged your hearing system and over time that’s cumulative,” she said.