Listen up

You can’t feel it but it really does hurt. Listening to loud music through a portable music player is putting the listeners’ hearing at risk. The Canadian Hearing Association recommends some possible risks and preventative measures that can be taken to help prevent hearing loss, or permanent damage. Turn the music down. You should be able to hear surrounding noise. Ear bud headphones are more damaging to your ears than an over-the-ear style headphone. The proximity of the noise to the inner ear canal with ear buds creates a higher intensity. Ear buds often require louder volumes to block out that ambient noise as well. If you are going to listen to loud volumes, keep in mind that for every volume increase of 3 dB, listening time should be cut in half. If you just can’t turn it down, turn it off for a while. For iPod listeners specifically, is the limiter software that can be downloaded from Apple’s website. The limiter on your device restricts the volume to a maximum of 115 dB at its peak. As Dr. Chasin of the Musicians’ Clinic of Canada indicates, this is a very good strategy and smart move in order to protect listeners.