In my 20-plus years in radio, I have always been careful with the volume of my headphones. I have known more than a few colleagues with hearing loss. I have always assumed that hearing loss from prolonged or reckless use of headphones was the only concern. Turns out I was wrong.
New research suggests people wearing headphones while walking are more likely to be hit by a car, truck, or train. Using 2010-2011 data from the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission and Google, researchers at the University Maryland found 47 cases in which a pedestrian wearing headphones had been injured or killed from being hit by a vehicle. That's nearly triple the number from 2004 and 2005, when the iPod revolution was just taking off. Most of the victims were under 30 years of age. The analysts said headphones or earbuds can block out the sound of oncoming traffic and even car horns.
Headphone noise can, as I stated earlier, lead to hearing loss. A 2010 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found 1 in 5 teenagers had some form of hearing loss, a 30 percent jump from the 1980's.
How loud is too loud? The Deafness Research Foundation recommends 85 decibels as the maximum safe volume to avoid hearing loss. That's a little louder than a telephone dial tone. Above 90db, hearing damage can occur with prolonged exposure.
The recommendation...turn down the volume. You might just hear that car coming up behind you. And you can avoid issues with your hearing down the road.
Links:
http://www.drf.org/news/38/iPod+generation+risk+losing+hearing
http://news.yahoo.com/injuries-pedestrians-wearing-headphones-tripled-since-2004-000807324.html
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20014372-10391704.html
http://www.gcaudio.com/resources/howtos/loudness.html
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