What kind of music can cause hearing impairment?

According to statistics, today about 5% of the world's population, that is, about 466 million people, suffers from hearing loss. And if you believe the forecasts of scientists, by 2050 the problem will become more serious and the number of people with hearing impairments will double... Hearing loss is usually associated with prolongedstay in noisy places. Today, people spend a lot of time on their headphones listening to podcasts and music. In order not to hear the city noise or the conversations of others, many of us turn the volume up to maximum. The question arises - can loud music cause sound deterioration and which music is the most dangerous? Scientists have already studied the impact of loud music of different genres on human hearing and they have an answer. Surprisingly, the harm from headphones is not that great.

If your ears hurt after the music, it means that henceforth it is worth lowering the volume.

Risk of hearing loss

According to Vice, modern man spends inheadphones 75% of the time. Many people listen to podcasts in the morning and play their favorite songs on the way to work. Then the player turns on music for concentration, and on the way home, people again listen to music or podcasts with news. And all this is not counting the listening to energetic music while exercising and watching movies with headphones. With all this in mind, it's no surprise that the World Health Organization announced in 2015 that 1.1 million people were at risk of hearing loss from listening to loud music. And we are talking not only about the harmful effects of headphones - dangerous noise awaits us at concerts and even cafes.

Not only headphones, but also concerts and other sources of noise harm your hearing

According to human hearing expert RichardNass (Richard Nass), no matter how close a person is to the source of the noise. The main causes of hearing loss are the loudness of sounds and the duration of their exposure. The loudness level is usually measured in decibels. Exposure to noise above 85 decibels for more than 8 hours is considered harmful to hearing. If the human hearing is exposed to loud noises, ear pains, ringing, hearing impairment and other unpleasant phenomena may occur. If this exposure occurs frequently, hearing acuity may decrease markedly in the long term.

See also: What do scientists know about people's musical tastes?

Dangerous headphone volume

Most headphones can output up to 120 decibels. And this despite the fact that even 110 decibels destroy nerve cells inside the earthat transmit information about sounds to the brain. In most cases, hearing impairment is precisely associated with the destruction of the structure of nerve cells important for the perception of sound. Also, people who live near airports can suffer from a high load on the ears. Even at a distance of 2 kilometers, a landing aircraft can generate noise levels of 100 decibels. A truck, factory work, and even a blender in the kitchen put 80 decibels on a person's ears. We have already said that this level of noise can be dangerous.

People living near airports may be more likely to suffer from hearing impairment

Research on what genre of musicmay lead to deafness, has not been performed. But we ourselves can think logically and draw some conclusions. We already know genres that sound loud. It's about heavy metal and dance music. And popular music cannot be called quiet - they are dominated by low frequencies (bass), which, with prolonged exposure, also negatively affect human hearing. But the classics and all kinds of ambient are unlikely to have a negative impact on the ear. But again, it is recommended to listen to any music at a moderate volume. Most smartphones even warn you about dangerous volume levels, and these notifications are worth paying attention to.

Today, even artificial intelligence can compose heavy music. Listen for yourself

Which headphones to choose?

Some people turn the volume up all the wayso as not to hear the noise of the subway and other sounds of big cities. Scientists believe that this is not the best way to isolate yourself from environmental stimuli. It is much better and safer to buy noise canceling headphones. Even at a safe volume level below 80 decibels, a person will hear music perfectly, but at the same time the surrounding noise will not disturb him. As a rule, the cost of noise canceling headphones is higher, but scientists are sure that it will be worth it.

When choosing headphones, you should pay attention to the presence of noise cancellation

Based on all of the above, it may turn outthe impression that we are constantly causing irreparable damage to hearing. It can be assumed that before the rise in popularity of headphones, people were less at risk of hearing loss. But a survey of 7,000 students at one of the universities in the US state of California showed that from 1988 to 2010, people's hearing did not get worse. And this despite the fact that before, not everyone could afford CD-players for listening to loud AC / DC, but now almost everyone listens to music through headphones.

If you are interested in the news of science and technology, subscribe to our channel in Yandex. Dzen. There you will find materials that have not been published on the site!

There is a mismatch. On the one hand, the WHO warns of the risk of developing hearing problems, and on the other, Californian scientists say that nothing bad will happen. There is nothing strange about this and it is completely normal, because any scientific assumption has opponents. Many of us have many friends who love loud music, but hardly any of them seriously complain about hearing loss. So, Californian scientists are also right about something. But you still need to protect your hearing - try not to listen to music at a volume above the permissible level. After all, if there are no problems with hearing now, they may appear in the future.