Photo credit: Ivan Samkov
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
The title of this Buzzfeed article states that certain headphones are safer for your ears. That’s probably true. Headphones with volume limits, noise-canceling and over-the-ear features may be safer for auditory health than headphones without those features, but they are by no means safe. Personal listening devices at full volume output can deliver up to 125 decibels straight to the ears. That’s enough sound energy to cause almost immediate auditory damage. I say “may be safe” because I haven’t seen any articles actually demonstrating that use of safer headphones or earbuds reduces auditory damage in personal listening device users.
Unfortunately, the article contains dangerous misinformation. A physician assistant recommends the 60/60 rule — using the personal listening device for no more than 60 minutes at a time, with output set at 60% of maximum. But most users listen longer than 60 minutes, and most personal listening devices have no way of determining what is 60% of maximum sound output. An ENT physician cites the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health recommended occupational noise exposure limit of 85 A-weighted* decibels (dBA). His statement that the louder the sound, the lower the safe listening time is correct. But the occupational standards do not prevent noise-induced hearing loss in workers and certainly aren’t safe for the public.
The only evidence-based safe noise exposure level to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, a time-weighted average of 70 decibels (dB) for 24 hours, was calculated by the Environmental Protection Agency 50 years ago. The actual safe noise level to prevent auditory damage may be much lower, 55 dBA for a single noise event and 55-60 dB for a day.
Personal listening devices in general are much better than the boomboxes of the 1980s because only the user hears the sound, but they are not safe for one’s ears. To understand what one is listening to, whether the lyrics of a song or the words in a podcast or book, the volume must provide a 5-7 decibel signal-to-noise ratio above ambient noise levels. Given the ambient noise levels of most urban streets, or on mass transit like trains, subway cars or buses, that output will likely exceed safe noise levels.
Over-the-ear headphones with noise cancellation and volume limiting features are probably safer for auditory health than those without these features, but people are deluding themselves if they think they are protecting their ears. As I have said before, looking for a safe headphone or safe earbuds is like looking for a safe cigarette: you simply won’t find one.
*A-weighting adjusts unweighted sound measurements for the frequencies heard in human speech.
