Are earphones good for your ear?

Ears are one of our five sensory organs. We take it's functioning for granted. We feel its importance once we feel hearing impairment or pain. Modern lifestyle has played a major role for the damages caused to our hearing power. Whichever place we see, whether it is the bus stops, railway stations, metros, gardens, roads, picnic stops and even in our house we see people glued to their earphones and headphones. So you need to know "Are earphones good for your ear".

Are earphones good for your ear?

I am not against it but as we know over use of anything have its own pros and cons. In this case of earphones and headphones, I am sorry to say it has more cons than pros.

Earphones and Headphones available in the market -

1. Open Headphones and Earphones

They prevent the volume from being too high as they allow the sound to escape. But at the same time they allow the noise from the surrounding to enter your ear. This will make you to increase the volume of your earphones resulting into combined intensity of sounds which might cause damage to your hearing.

2. Closed Headphones and Earphones

As the name suggests these headphones provide good external sound isolation. You have a better control of the volume level as the noise from the surrounding will not be able to interfere with the sound of the earphones. But it has some cons too which we shall discuss in the article further.

3. In-Ear Headphones and Earphones

These earphones are almost invisible to our eyes when someone is using it. The reason for this is that it is too small and embedded inside the ear. It provides better sound insulation and gives a good hearing experience from the earphones. When used at proper volume level it will give you no problems. But when used incorrectly it can cause major damage to your ears as it is too close to your ear canal.

How to Prevent hearing Loss from Earphones and Headphones?

1. Never raise the volume level above 60% of the maximum volume

Many earphones and headphones when used in the mobile phones give us the notification that raising the volume further beyond the specified volume may damage your ears hearing ability. We should pay heed to this and always keep the volume level below this level for safe and prolong use of the earphones. Many times when we hear our favorite song or when we are stressed out or when the background noise is more and when we are very emotional we tend to increase the volume of the headphones to the maximum. It gives us a rush of adrenaline and takes us to a state of calmness and gives us a good feeling.

At that point it feels good but the harm and pain it gives to our ears in the long run; we realize it latter and regret to our actions. But as it is said "Once the damage is done it is done", it can't be retreated back how much ever we regret or think. Don't go with the flow of adrenaline; always keep the volume of your earphones and headphones below 60% of its maximum volume.

2. Do not use Earphones and Headphones for more than 60 minutes in a day

Sometimes during watching movies we tend to have our earphones on for more than 2 hours in a stretch. This can cause strain and pain to our ears and affect our hearing ability. Try to take breaks in between, have some snacks or some conversions and then continue watching the rest part of the movie.

3. Able to hear the music or wordings of other's Earphones and Headphones

Many times while we travel we can hear the music coming out of the earphones of the person standing or sitting beside you. It means the sound is too loud and can lead to permanent hearing loss or deafness. It is your duty to advice them of the consequences as a part of your social responsibility towards the society.

4.  Using In-ear or noise cancelling Earphones and Headphones

As we have discussed at the start that In-ear earphones and headphones give us a great experience of the songs and music with the sound being clearly audible with all the bass and stereo. But precaution should be taken as we are not able to hear the noise from the background. Many accidents have taken place due to this.

Youths and teens have a habit of listening to songs, music and movies during travelling. They sometime get so much engaged into it that they pay no heed to what is going around them. Such ignorance may cause accidents. Thus earphones not only cause hearing damage: they may also lead to physical injury indirectly.

5. The type of Earphones or Headphones you use

From the type I mean whether you use a costly or cheaper earphone or headphone. Costly or branded earphones and headphone go through tremendous testing and follow stiff regulations and standards. They are safe for your ears provided you use them within the guidelines mentioned.

On the other hand in case of cheaper earphones the desired quality and performance is less than the costlier one. You don't get the desired sound quality from them and tend to increase the volume to hear the finer details. Increased volume for a prolonged period leads to noise-induced hearing loss.

6. Sharing your Earphones and Headphones

Sharing your earphones or headphones is same as sharing used ear buds. Imagine using ear buds to clean your ears which someone else has used it. Disgusting, isn't it? So next time be careful before using someone else's earphone or giving yours to someone. Sharing earphones can cause ear-infections in case the person using it has one. It is advised to replace the sponge or rubber cover of your earphones every two months as they get covered with bacteria over time.

7. Listening to loud music can cause Vertigo

Listening to loud music on your earphones and headphones; be careful. Loud music can lead to vertigo or dizziness due to the pressure caused by the loud noise in the ears.

8. Earphones and Headphones affect your productivity

Studies have shown that people listening to music on their earphones while studying or working actually focus less than who do not listen to music. The songs and the words interfere with their work and their focus is divided. They are not able to do the work or study with the right intensity and the desired concentration.

9. Working out or running outdoors

The typical scenario while working out is to hear the sound of your feet hitting the ground; using earphones while doing this prevents us from hearing the sound. The same should be in the case of jogging or running around outdoors. The earphones and headphones cord interfere with your bodily movements. Also you can't hear the surrounding vehicle's horn or noises which can cause accidents.

The Final conclusion is that earphones and headphones are safe for your ears in the long run provided they are of standard quality, used only up to 60% of their total volume, used maximum up to 60 minutes in a day, replacing the earphone sponges and cords regularly, maintaining the hygiene of headphones and using it only when you are at a relatively safe place.

Hope this article "are earphones good for you ear" was useful to you. Do not shy to share it with your friends.