Staying physically fit is difficult with a busy schedule, so I walk 3 miles everyday. Good for my health right? What could be easier and cheaper? Plus, I can spy on my neighbors as I go. So I crank up my IPod to listen to my favorite heavy metal music, put in my earbuds and away I go. All’s going great until about 3 weeks into my daily walking ritual. One morning I get up and have a funny ringing, stuffed-up-ears kinda thing going on. The best way to describe it is after you’re at a loud rock concert and your ears feel weird for almost a day afterward. Ear infection? sinus infection? Ear wax? Brain tumor? IPod listening? Eureka! After a doctor’s visit I’ve found that yes, listening to my IPod at higher than what’s deemed as safe decibels was causing actual hearing loss.
While I’m not suggesting that only listening to an IPod can cause hearing loss, other listening devices have the ability to cause noise induced hearing loss as well. The added factor when listening to an IPod is you do so with earbuds which go directly into the ear; unlike traditional headphones. But consider the fact that The Occupational Health and Safety Administration recommends 85 decibels as a safe listening level for up to eight hours, but the IPod can go as high as 130 decibels. Compare that to a 747 taking off which reaches 120 decibels and that puts it in better perspective. Experts state that listening to music at 110 decibels for just fifteen minutes can cause hearing loss.
Just this past January, a man in Lousiana started a class action suit against Apple, claiming that the IPod can cause hearing loss. Unfortunately, many people are consciously exposing themselves to loud volumes, most unaware of the permanent harm that can occur. And no maker of a personal listening devise is going to tell you this.
So, what’s a music lover/power walker to do? Ditch the listening devises altogether? Stop walking? Nah. Well, for starters you turn down the IPod. Simple enough. You could also try one of those new safe volume earbuds. It’s a set of earbuds that automatically limits the maximum volume to a safe level (80 decibels, no matter how loud the original file is or how high the volume is turned up). How clever is that? A company called iHearSafe ( http://ingemicorp.com/ihearsafe.html ) sells a pair for just $19.99. A small price to pay to protect your hearing. And, no, I don’t own stock in this company. I just want to help prevent noise induced hearing loss in my own small way.
So now I walk with my IPod turned a lot lower. I’m ordering my HearSafe earbuds. Although my hearing loss is permanent, at least now I know the facts and can prevent further damage.
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