Music to Your Ears - The Hearing Health Time Bomb?
Did you know that a third of 16 to 34 year olds are listening to music through earphones for at least an hour a day; and 1 in 7 manage four times that amount? Many at high volume up to 100 decibels - louder than a jack hammer.
It's a hearing health issue waiting to happen.
Normally private hearing aid companies encourage you to take a free hearing assessment once a year if you are over 55.
I notice that one high street hearing centre is offering this to anyone over 40! Could they be anticipating what could be the norm in years to come? Part of the problem could be the earphones themselves - poor quality - and the environment in which they are worn - noisy! And the result of the latter? Everything has to be at full volume.
So what's the answer? Proper, good quality headphones can be less damaging because they go over your ears and block out a lot of background noise.
Then you don't need the extra volume.
Let's hope this is advice that does not fall on deaf ears! Mind you...
that wouldn't have helped me "in the early days of rock 'n' roll".
The equivalent to iPods and MP3 players - hi-fi systems and record players - did not usually transmit direct to the eardrum via earphones.
But that didn't stop us suffering long-term damage to our hearing when it came to live concerts.
In fact, many a seasoned rock performer of that era now has a hearing loss, tinnitus, or both.
And so have many of their devoted fans - like me There was one Status Quo concert in particular that I saw at the sports centre in Paignton.
Perhaps acoustics were not the best, but the noise! Unbelievable.
The funny part about it was the effect it had on me after the show as I walked to my car.
Talk about tinnitus.
My ears were "alive".
My reaction - and one that I still laugh about to this day - happened once I got inside the car.
I opened the windows to try to let the noise out! How stupid was that? But for today's fan? All I can say that there really is no excuse to be so affected.
Today's technology is producing solutions alongside the problems it is creating.
You just have to be sensible and Google " total hearing solutions ".
Then you can find those solutions and defend yourself from most risks of noise damage.
It's a hearing health issue waiting to happen.
Normally private hearing aid companies encourage you to take a free hearing assessment once a year if you are over 55.
I notice that one high street hearing centre is offering this to anyone over 40! Could they be anticipating what could be the norm in years to come? Part of the problem could be the earphones themselves - poor quality - and the environment in which they are worn - noisy! And the result of the latter? Everything has to be at full volume.
So what's the answer? Proper, good quality headphones can be less damaging because they go over your ears and block out a lot of background noise.
Then you don't need the extra volume.
Let's hope this is advice that does not fall on deaf ears! Mind you...
that wouldn't have helped me "in the early days of rock 'n' roll".
The equivalent to iPods and MP3 players - hi-fi systems and record players - did not usually transmit direct to the eardrum via earphones.
But that didn't stop us suffering long-term damage to our hearing when it came to live concerts.
In fact, many a seasoned rock performer of that era now has a hearing loss, tinnitus, or both.
And so have many of their devoted fans - like me There was one Status Quo concert in particular that I saw at the sports centre in Paignton.
Perhaps acoustics were not the best, but the noise! Unbelievable.
The funny part about it was the effect it had on me after the show as I walked to my car.
Talk about tinnitus.
My ears were "alive".
My reaction - and one that I still laugh about to this day - happened once I got inside the car.
I opened the windows to try to let the noise out! How stupid was that? But for today's fan? All I can say that there really is no excuse to be so affected.
Today's technology is producing solutions alongside the problems it is creating.
You just have to be sensible and Google " total hearing solutions ".
Then you can find those solutions and defend yourself from most risks of noise damage.
