IntermtnMedCtr - Protect your hearing by turning down the volume

Short Summary

Main recommendation: Protect your hearing by keeping headphone and iPod volume at a level where you can still hear your surroundings, and do not assume young people are immune to noise-induced hearing loss. The video argues that loud personal audio devices, not just traditional sources like tractors or concerts, are now a major cause of permanent damage in teenagers and young adults.

Key Points

• Teenagers are at particular risk because they tend to turn up the volume on gadgets like iPods and iPads, which often are gifts at Christmas.
• Hearing damage from loud noise is cumulative and permanent; once the inner ear is damaged, there is "no going back."
• Earbud headphones deliver sound directly into the ear canal, so the louder the music, the greater the long-term risk.
• Audiologist Dr. Michael Walker says young people are not wearing earplugs with headphones, unlike earlier generations who learned to protect their ears in farm or military settings.
• Young people often feel invincible and do not realize they are losing hearing until the damage is done.

Details Worth Noting

• Concrete instructions: Set ground rules on volume when a child receives an iPod or iPad. Dr. Walker says the volume should be loud enough to enjoy the music but low enough to still hear what is happening around you. Dr. Walker notes an iPod can output up to about 115 dB, and at that level he says exposure should be limited to about 15 minutes, while people often listen far longer.
• Parents should talk with children directly about these risks rather than assuming they will understand on their own.
• The case study in the video is Peter Donis, whose hearing problems were discovered in third grade; he later had significant permanent hearing loss by age 45, linked to years of loud concerts and noisy machinery like chainsaws and tractors.
• Dr. Walker, an audiologist at the Intermountain Medical Center Audiology Clinic, says the risk has not changed between generations; the difference is the source of the loud sound now being personal headphones.
• The report is a news segment, so these points reflect the views of the clinician and the interviewed individual rather than formal medical guidance.

Bottom Line

Loud personal audio is a real and permanent hearing risk for young people, so setting volume limits and talking with kids about it now is far easier than dealing with irreversible loss later.