Photo credit: Kaboompics .com from Pexels
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
Here is yet another report, this time from Baylor University, that headphone use may cause harm to hearing.
I agree with everything stated in the report except for the assertion that 85 decibels is the dangerous sound level. This standard is derived from occupational noise exposure levels, and in 2016, NIOSH reiterated that this is not a safe noise exposure level for the public.
And headphone use may be different because the sound source is only millimeters away from the ear drum, with the external auditory canal being even shorter in children than in adults.
Personally, I would advise against the use of headphones and ear buds, period. If you insist on using them keep in mind that if you can’t hear ambient noise when listening to content or music using headphones or earbuds, the volume is too high and is almost certainly causing hearing loss.
