precautions while using earphones

Volume level and length of listening are important to safely use different types of headphones, according to Sharon A. Sandridge, PhD, Director of Clinical Services in Audiology at Cleveland Clinic. She says there should be a balance.

Hit any busy jogging path or park and youll have an easier time counting the people who arent wearing earbuds than those who are. Thirty five percent of WH readers told us in an online poll that when exercising outdoors, they always listen to music.

But your peppy playlist doesnt just compromise your safety; it can also interfere with the quality of your workout. Many people exercise while listening to music because they dont want to think about how uncomfortable they feel.

Noise induced hearing loss can be caused by two types of noise. Sudden bursts, such as firearms and fireworks, can immediately cause hearing loss in children, who are often reluctant to report such exposures to their parents. The other type is continuous exposure to loud noise, which can damage the ears over time. Sources of continuous noise include motorized recreational vehicles, loud sporting events, power tools and amplified music.
Although the maximum volume limit is adjustable on many current MP3 players you cannot be certain children will not disable this function. A survey sponsored by the Australian government found that about 25 percent of people using portable stereos had daily noise exposures high enough to cause long term hearing damage. Further research from the Netherlands reports that 90 percent of adolescents listened to music through earphones on MP3 players, almost half used high volume settings, and only 7 percent used a noise limiter.

If children will be using portable audio equipment you try to stop them! then responsible parents will want a safety method that limits noise exposure without constant supervision. Protection in the form of powered adapter using signal processing to significantly enhance the users listening comfort is a safe method but requires batteries to work. Modern headphones are usually very sensitive as they have to work with battery powered mp3 players and similar devices. So when you plug them into a mains operated unit they can usually produce very high sound levels.

In response to consumer concerns, Apple offers a volume limit setting for some iPods. If your iPod support this, youll generally find it on the main iPod management screen that comes up when you sync. Otherwise, you can also restrict the maximum volume of a song in options tab of any song in iTunes.

The length of time you listen, not just the volume, can contribute to hearing loss. The louder the music, the shorter you can listen, but giving your ears a chance to rest between sessions will help them heal.

Despite them being included with every iPod and iPhone, researchers caution against using Apples earbuds or those from other manufacturers. Earbuds are more likely to cause hearing damage than headphones that sit over the ear and they can also be up to 9 db louder than over the ear headphones not such a big deal when youre going from 50 to 60 db, but much more serious going from 70 to 80.

hough its easy to find yourself listening to your iPod at max volume, try to avoid this at all costs. Researchers advise that its safe to listen to your iPod at maximum volume for just 5 minutes.