Listen Up

How many people have wired or wireless headphones? A lot of people. But how many are reliant upon music to determine how their day is gonna go, make them happy, or remove them from their state of boredom? Also a lot of people.

Music, or even YouTube, is something that is supposed to connect to their audience or have them connect with each other and share a common interest. 

There are various different ways of listening to music or videos, one of the most common being through headphones. Did you know that headphones can actually lead to hearing damage or even hearing loss?

Yes, our most popular popcorn sized invention damages our ears. Depending on how loud you have a video or music playing, the damage varies. At full volume you could hear a constant ring in the damaged ear and have an extreme headache. At half volume, your ears could ring but it would take up to 6 minutes for recovery.

Some sounds won’t affect your ears until later or after a certain period of time listening to them. For example, city traffic takes ~6.5 hours until your ears are either damaged or slightly ringing.

Not all damage is permanent nor is serious or dangerous. High pitch sounds like a power saw or drill, construction, or rock music are common sounds to avoid to keep your ears ‘safe’.

Cody Rosenberg, a sophomore at East Valley High-school, doesn’t listen to music through headphones that often. He states, “I have my license, my own truck, and a family who has nearly the same music taste as I do. I don’t mind playing my music around them or especially by myself, so headphones don’t concern me unless I’m trying to be quiet.”

Not everyone likes the same music but those who do will normally have a playlist to play with their family or friends so they can jam out to it and have a good time.

According to Osteopathic.org, they state that, “Today, 1 in 5 teens will experience some form of hearing loss—a rate about 30% higher than it was 20 years ago. Many experts believe the escalation is due, in part, to increased use of headphones.”

Sydney Gerrior, a sophomore at Lakeland High-school, states, “I’ve always wanted AirPod pros and I finally received them for Christmas and that’s all I ever use to listen to music, watch TikTok, YouTube or literally anything. It’s a lifestyle at this point.”

People like Ms. Gerrior are more likely to be affected because of how often they use their headphones, AirPods, etc. The longer you use them or are around those sounds, the more you are affected.