Are headphones destroying our hearing?

Here’s how to protect your ears.

I wear headphones every day. And if I’m at work, I have those bad boys on for nearly 8 hours straight. In a perfect world, I’m listening at a reasonable volume…but in reality it’s hard to know if that’s true. So when does loud become too loud?

The answer is: it’s really hard to tell.

According to the WHO, over a billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practice.

While that sounds like a bunch of old people trying to suppress us young people from listening to our rock and roll the way we like it, it’s a scary statistic. It’s even scarier when you know that hearing loss is almost always permanent. So, what’s the best way to listen with headphones, and not lose our hearing? And how can noise cancellation help us out?

Links/further reading:
- National Library of Medicine | Mechanisms of hair cell damage and repair - Mechanisms of hair cell damage and repair

[The_Mining_Pickaxe]

Don't accept BetterScam sponsors.

[highonkola]

didnt better help sell their patience data to advertisers?

[bSixf]

Vox shouldn't have fallen for the "BetterScam" therapist sponsor.

[leerypixel]

I expected more info about actual headphone hearing loss.
Like volume settings and how sometimes even the lowest sound setting is still too loud, or how listening to sound for extended periods of time also could increase hearing loss so how does that impact headphones, should you put your headphones away after using them for a couple hours to listen to silence so the hairs can untangle?
Are there regulations regarding headphones, is there advice from companies for sound settings or listening time?

So I think there were a lot more questions that could be asked and this could have been longer, the video felt a bit rushed and skipped over a lot of aspects of wearing headphones and hearing loss.

[LethalTurd]

I wonder if Better Help helped more people commit than to stop them from doing it.

[Dada]

Better help is a complete scam, they don’t have therapists actually, just random people, who you have to repeat your stuff all over gain, like people in the street. Waste of time, and it’s actually predatory.

[TimBatt]

TL;DR Active Noise Cancellation is both real and good, and doesn't damage your hearing.

[thiagotelho]

The "power on" sound at the beginning got me checking my headphones, as if I hadn't already listened to a whole intro on them.

[techcafe]

I live near a busy road where the steady noise of traffic averages around 70-75dB, measured near my balcony door; and over 100dB when an ambulance or fire truck drives by. The constant noise isn't only damaging to your hearing, but also your physical & psychological well-being.

I do hate living here with all the noise, but due to the housing crisis, there was no alternative.

[frederickthegreat]

Great video except for the betterhelp sponsor. Vox should be responsible enough to avoid companies like that

[amo_res]

Protect your hearing guys. Tinnitus is no joke

[Maxშემიწყალე]

You know times are tough at Vox when they have a better help sponsorship in their 6 min video.

[tanuhudson]

could have given a few examples of hearing protection! as a musician telling you now one of the best things is these protective ear buds that are small, don't affect the quality of the sound and fit on your keys, that way you always have them with you.

[HoLeeSheet.]

You know what’s worse ‘Movie Theatres’. The volume is unbearable.

[alexcooper]

Always use concert ear plugs at shows. They not only protect your hearing, they actually make it sound better. Shows can be incredibly harsh sounding, with one sound spilling into another. If you wear concert earplugs, it reduces the noise to a level you can actually enjoy and hear things clearly.

[MrHaydnSir]

a better sponsor for this video would have been loop earplugs 4:30

[vvvios]

Keep in mind that with BetterHelp, therapists are "serving" ten or more clients AT THE SAME TIME. It's absolute garbage and incredibly deceptive.

[SpaceForceCommander]

I have always protected my hearing because I learned very early on that the tiny hairs required for hearing in my ear canal can break off and never grow back if they are subjected to very loud volume. So I never have music on too loud, even with headphones (to the extent that I can still hear external sounds).

[manuelgarciahurtado]

As a 26-year-old adult, since 2022, I developed tinnitus in my left ear due to listening to music at high volumes for approximately 10 years. Unfortunately, this prevents me from listening to music with headphones even at low volume, as it only worsens my tinnitus. As a music lover, this was a hard blow in my life. If you often start to feel ringing in your ears, this is a clear sign that you are about to get tinnitus. If you can still avoid it, do so at once.

[davidsykes]

I did my damage in my twenties, loud concerts, blasting music on my Walkman/Discman. I've had tinnitus for over twenty years now and a loss of hearing in certain frequencies. I try to avoid having it get worse, but the damage is done.