Bluetooth headphones and earbuds like AirPods are pretty much ubiquitous in present day life due to Zoom calls, podcast-binging, music on repeat andplaylist pumped-up workouts.
While this is definitely convenient and handy for multitasking, health experts are suggesting it might be time to tune in and turn it down.
“The medical and audiology communities, as well as the general public, don’t understand that significant hearing loss is not part of normal healthy aging, but largely represents noise-induced hearing loss,” Dr. Daniel Fink, board chair of the Quiet Coalition, tellsHealthline. “We should be able to hear well into old age, something generally not true in industrialized societies,” said Fink.
7 Secrets to Living Longer from 100-Year-Olds
Getty Images / channarongsds / CSA Images
For this analysis, Fink and audiologist Jan Mayes collected data from several articles about personal audio systems. Individuals who used headphones or earbuds the most are potentially damaging their hearing later on in life the most.
“Especially for young people…personal audio system use is the major source of leisure noise exposure. [When] they reach mid-life, probably in their early to mid-40s, they will be as hard of hearing as their grandparents are now in their 70s and 80s,” Fink says in the sameHealthlineinterview.
Beyond losing the ability to hear as sharply (or at all, without hearing assistance devices), hearing loss has been linked to cognitive decline, reports a 2011 study published inJAMA Neurology. When compared to peers without hearing loss, those with mildly impacted audio abilities were twice as likely todevelop dementia. Moderate hearing loss places people at three times the risk for dementia, while severe hearing loss makes one five times (!) more likely to receive a dementia diagnosis during their lifetime.
3 Things That Could Seriously Lower Your Risk for Dementia
Well-treated hearing loss with tools such as hearing aids does reduce this risk, confirms Mary L. Carson, Au.D, licensed clinical audiologist.
“We live in a noisy world, and many people are exposing themselves repeatedly to unsafe noise levels which may affect their long-term health. In my practice, we recently saw a young adult with a perforated eardrum from listening to music with earbuds too loudly,” Carson adds.
Luckily, it’s possible to prevent hearing loss before it happens. To keep your ears safe, aim to:
Was this page helpful?Thanks for your feedback!Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Was this page helpful?
Thanks for your feedback!
Tell us why!OtherSubmit
Tell us why!
