iPods can be harmful for your hearing

Caution – iPods can be harmful for your hearing

Posted by Mark Lyall on August 19, 2010, filed in: Diseases, Health News

Do you get wacky on your child when he/she doesn’t listen to you and give reason that they did not hear you?  Your kids might be right.  A latest study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, compared national surveys from 1988 and 1994 to 2005 and 2006, and revealed that more than 6 million teens (nearly 20%) in the United States have some hearing loss. This is a drastic jump of 31% in hearing loss since last decade.

About the study

Dr. Josef Shargorodsky, an ear, nose and throat specialist at Channing Laboratory at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital led the study. The study drew raw numbers from data collected by the government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.  Researchers compared hearing loss in nearly 3,000 adolescents tested during early 1990s to nearly 1,800 kids tested during mid 2000s. The findings contributed the fact that- 

§  The prevalence of hearing loss rose from roughly 15% to 19.5% between the first and second surveys – a total 31% increase

§  One in five teens have some hearing loss

§  Hearing loss can result in slower language development, poorer performance in school and lower self-esteem

§  Previous studies have found that even slight hearing loss in elementary and high school students can result in progressively lower scores on communication tests and greater anxiety

 

Contributing factors for hearing loss

Researchers said there can be many contributing.factors for the hearing loss, but the most common culprit might be excessive use of iPod, MP3 and other personal music players, used with ear buds inserted inside the ear. However, researchers areskeptical to blame these devices solely. Other factors are-

§  Genetic disorders

§  Premature babies, who are often more susceptible to hearing loss as they get older

§  High volume, street noise, tools, yard/garden equipment, live music or earphones

§  Improper diet and nutrition

§  Exposure to toxins

One hour on iPod can diminish your hearing

Posted by Christine Stomes on June 22, 2010, filed in: Health News

MP3 music players have become one of the popular gadgets for listening to music.  Apple gadgets iPods, iPhones and many other popular handheld gizmo’s having MP3 capability have enticed music lovers to access music anytime – during exercise, commuting by train etc.  A study published in the June issue of Archives of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery revealed that use of MP3 players for more than one hour at a stretch can cause temporary loss of hearing.

What was the main reason for temporary hearing loss?

The study reported that listening to music by use of headphones can cause damage to hair cells in outer ear leading to temporary loss of hearimg

What did the study involve?

§  Participants were subjected to six one hour long sessions of pop or rock music by using two different types of headphones at various levels of preset volumes. 

§  Researchers measured the responses of the 21 men and women aged between 19 and 28 to a very short sound, after each session.

§  Following it, participants were asked to listen to two sounds of different frequencies and were analyzed to see how clearly participants could hear the tones.

§  A control group of 14 people of the same ages was used to compare the results

Lead.researcher Dr Hannah Kempler, of Ghent University, Belgium, said that “It is well known that excessive occupational noise exposure can lead to noise-induced hearing loss.” “Excessive noise exposure can lead to metabolic and/or mechanical effects resulting in alterations of the structural elements of the organ of Corti [the inner ear organ in mammals that contains auditory sensory cells or ‘hair cells’)”

As popularity of iPods and other MP3 players are increasing exponentially, physicians and scientist are getting worried about long term effects of these gadgets to cause hearing loss.  This is especially concerning for teens and youngsters, who are stuck to their iPods almost all the time.