'אייפוד' ומכשירי מוזיקה ניידים אחרים שינו את הדרך בה אנשים רבים מאזינים למוזיקה. וככל שהפופולריות של מכשירים אלו ממשיכה לעלות, מומחים בתחום השמיעה מודאגים כי מספר האנשים שיסבלו מאיבוד שמיעה יהיה שכיח כמו המכשירים עצמם.
המומחים בתחום מודאגים ממקרים של איבוד שמיעה מאחר וחשיפה למוזיקה דרך מכשירים אלו עלולה להיות חזקה ומתמשכת. עם נגני 'MP3' החדשים, כמו ה-אייפוד', אפשר להנות משיפורים משמעותיים באיכות הקול במכשיר קטן ונייד יותר, ואיכות קול, ניידות ונוחות מתרגמים כולם לזמן רב יותר של האזנה למוזיקה, מה שרק מגביר את הנזק הפוטנציאלי.
במכשירים הישנים יותר, כמו הווקמן, איכות הקול בעוצמת הקול הגבוהה ביותר היא גרועה למדי, ולכן אנשים לא מגבירים את הווליום לרמות כאלו. כעת, בעוצמת קול גבוהה איכול הקול טובה גם היא והדבר עלול לגרום לבעיה.
למרות שכל איבוד שמיעה המופיע לא חייב להמשך לתמיד, ברגע שהנזק נגרם, הוא קבוע ולא ניתן להחזיר את המצב לקדמותו.
How MP3 players can cause hearing loss
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Noise-induced hearing damage
Music and other loud noises cause hearing loss by damaging the hair cells in the cochlea, a part of your inner ear that helps transmit sound information to your brain. These hair cells can often recover from temporary damage. If you've ever been to a rock concert and your hearing sounded muffled for the next day or two, you've experienced temporary damage to these hair cells.
But extremely loud noise, such as a gunshot, or moderately loud noise that continues for long periods of time, can permanently damage these hair cells. Once these hairs are destroyed, they don't come back and at least partial hearing loss occurs. About 30 million Americans currently have some hearing loss and approximately one-third of them have noise-induced hearing loss.
Any sound above 90 decibels (db) may cause some hearing loss if the exposure is prolonged. But most portable music players can produce sounds up to 120 db. That's louder than a lawn mower or a chain saw and equivalent to an ambulance siren.
The problem is that you don't feel hearing loss occurring. You won't know until years later that some of your hearing has been permanently destroyed.
Preventive strategies
To address such concerns, some product manufacturers have been touting products such as noise-canceling earphones. The theory is that if you don't hear background noise, you won't need to turn up the volume to block out those sounds. If you aren't increasing the volume to cover background noise, though, standard earphones are probably fine.
Debate continues over whether in-ear or over-the-ear earphones are better. One study found that in-ear earphones can increase the decibel level between 7 and 9 db. Earphones that sit over your ear, with their lower decibel range, may therefore be slightly safer.
None of this means you can't enjoy your music on the go. Listening to sounds of 80 db or less, even for long periods of time, isn't likely to cause damage. Dr. Cook says that if you keep the volume at a level where you can still comfortably carry on a conversation, you won't need to limit the amount of time you listen to your music. She also recommends that you never turn the volume all the way up.
How do you know your music's too loud?
While you can't measure the decibel level of your music, there are some simple ways to tell if your volume is too high. Your music is too loud if:
Your MP3 player volume is set higher than 60 percent of the maximum
You can't hear conversations going on around you
People near you can hear your music
You find yourself shouting instead of talking when you respond to people nearby
By taking steps to protect your hearing now, such as turning your music down, you can ensure that you'll be able to enjoy your music on the go for many years to come.
RELATED
Web Resources
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Dangerous Decibels
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more information By Mayo Clinic Staff
Feb 16, 2006
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