subject: College Students And Early-onset Hearing Loss: Fixing The Volume Problem [print this page] Sure, it makes sense for rebellious teenagers and fun-loving college students alike to enjoy their music fast and loud. Rock and roll was once a sign of splitting from the pack and disagreeing with parents, while more recently, those over 40 have scratched their heads while sons and daughters rave about everything from punk rock to hip-hop. The world of loud and cutting-edge music has definitely had some genres help push it forward recently, too, with the influx of noise bands on cities around the country leaving parents wondering how children aren't hard of hearing after hours of aural barrages. And while a lot of people manage to head off to college, hit up clubs and concerts, and not ruin their ears, more and more young people are starting to experience early-onset hearing loss. In fact, the numbers have been on the increase enough that people are starting to take notice and issue warnings about particular sets of headphones.
The first move towards preserving one's hearing long after graduation is taking note of when and where sounds are the loudest. For instance, those who are in touring bands are going to want to invest in a great pair of earplugs that make it possible to hear a monitor while also being protected from incessant feedback and white noise. Anyone who is trying a hand at the new DJ craze should also take care to tone it down at home, as hours of monitoring sets and practices can lead to some ear-ringing. In a club situation, those playing and those attending alike should stay away from the big speakers and try to wear earplugs whenever possible. While it might not look cool to have something bright orange sticking out of one's ears, it's certainly better than complaining about hearing loss before the age of 30, especially that kind that could have been avoided altogether.
While it's a common trait of youngsters to think that it's impossible to do long-term damage with any activities, the fact is that sometimes hours of listening to mp3 players with earbud headphones is enough to wreak a bit of havoc on one's hearing. The reason that these particular type of headphones are more likely to do damage lies in the design and placement. With a pair of halfway decent headphones that provide some foam insulation as well as padding, the sound is not sitting directly in the ear canal. This means that there is not extended exposure to a loud noise, while at the same time, the insulation means that outside noises aren't as likely to cause a disturbance.
With earbuds, hearing problems result from the fact that there is no way to dull the noise of the world around, meaning that users are more likely to just crank the volume and leave it up high for hours and hours. This can do a number on healthy ears, and it doesn't actually take years and years to see hearing damage as a result of this technique of listening to music, especially when teens and college students are doing most of their music listening with mp3 players that are already cranked up volume-wise thanks to bass-boosting presets.
So what to do to solve this problem? Try to invest in better headphones, the kind that cancel out noise and muffle outside sounds while not pumping their own sounds directly into one's ear canal. At the same time, keep mp3 players low, volume-wise, and don't try to drown out a loud roommate or a noisy city. Simple steps like these can make it easier to preserve one's ears for years to come.
