Headphones and earphones are accessories around which our lives revolve and something we can’t leave while going anywhere. It has become a necessity for us; however, this necessity can also be a cause of damaging our hearing ability. A good playlist and pair of headsets are enough to offer an excellent leisure time, but the sound you turn towards your headphones can affect your listening ability in the future.
Hearing loss due to noise-induced hearing instruments is standard in professions like the military or construction. Still, today young people are becoming prone to noise-induced hearing loss because of extensive use of headphones.
However, you do have the ability to prevent yourself from this damage;
Turn the volume down
Seriously it’s that simple; just turn the volume down of your earbuds or headphones. It just does not end here; you’ll have to put in efforts to keep the volume down from other sources, too; for example, while watching TV at home, avoid turning the volume high.
When you cannot keep the volume down, make sure there is no separate volume control on your headphones; if it’s there, fix that too.
Opt for frequent listening breaks
Taking frequent breaks while listening to music on your headphones can prevent you from hearing loss. The longer you put on your headphones to listen to the music, the higher the chances that your ears will get damaged. A ten-minute break every hour or a 5 minutes break every 30 minutes is an excellent option.
You can also opt for the 60/60 rule, where you listen at 60% of the device’s max volume for an hour and then go for a break.
Actual headphones are better than earbuds.
Earbuds and headphones are in no way the same thing. Headphones are defined as a device that is placed over our ears, covering the whole ear. In contrast, earbuds are known to be tiny buds made of hard plastic or silicone that fit perfectly in your ear. The distance between the sound that reaches the eardrum may be minimal between earbuds and headphones, but it plays a significant role in the long run.
Choose noise-cancelling headphones
If you belong to the category of people who use headphones to avoid other sounds and keep increasing the volume due to external sounds becoming louder, try using noise-cancelling headphones, which will help you deal with the constant increase in volume.
Passive noise-cancelling headphones are an option designed to restrict outside sounds, such as foam headphones with high density and can prevent your ear from all external sounds. Moreover, you can also opt for active noise-cancelling headphones that operate by monitoring sounds around you and form soundwaves that deduct all the external noise.
Make use of clear and good-quality headphones.
Every time a good quality pair of headphones doesn’t have to cost you an arm. If you research correctly, there are some great and reasonable options available that offer clear sound. This is essential because if the audio is clear at a lower level, we avoid raising the volume to too high damaging levels.
For example, there are times when we miss a line while watching some TV show, all due to the tiny speakers built into the set. As a result, we have to rewind the show, increase the volume level or listen to that line again. This practice goes with the headphones too, and you may fail to realise this, especially when you have not been exposed to precise, excellent, and clear sound reproduction.
Today, many modern headphones are designed to offer loud, noise-bassy audio. However, we should opt for a set focusing on instrumental and vocal clarity. In this way, you’ll enjoy your audio experience more and prefer listening at lower volumes with the same audio richness.
Fix a volume limit
There are specific devices that enable you to set a volume limit through setting. For example, in the case of the iPhone, you can go to settings, look for the music option and click on Volume limit to set the maximum level. For other devices, look for the settings in the user manual and search and set the volume limit.
Hearing is one precious treasure for us, so we must look for ways to protect our hearing ability. How we treat our ears has a long-term impact; one tiny mistake can make our hearing ability suffer. If you can adopt even a single tip from this guide, it will benefit your long-term auditory well-being. Lastly, it’s better to go with the rule of thumb, ‘avoid noises that are too close, too loud, or last long.’
