Ever been to a concert and left with that annoying ringing in your ears? For most of us, this buzzing (scientific term: tinnitus) might last only a couple hours and be gone by the next morning. A new study done by McMaster University, however, indicates that nearly 30% of teens have this ringing in their ears constantly, indicating that the condition has become persistent. This issue has only become serious recently however, because as ear specialist Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri says, “You [once] had a Walkman with two AA batteries and headphone thongs that went over your ears. At high volume, the sound was so distorted and the battery life was poor. Nowadays we have smartphones that are extremely complex computers with high-level fidelity”
Now obviously we would never suggest to just stop listening to music, however, there are many precautions that music fans can take to preserve their hearing while still enjoying the full quality of sound. When listening to music in headphones, doctors recommend not turning the volume up past 60%, and when at a concert, be sure to bring earplugs, as permanent damage can occur after just minutes. One thing concert goers should be aware of is that buying normal earplugs cut out much of the high end of the frequency spectrum allowing only the rumbling bass frequencies to pass through unaltered. Fortunately there are many brands of ear plugs designed specially for concerts that allow the full spectrum through while still dampening the volume. My personal favorite(and cheap) option is the Dubs ear plugs which can be found here, however, there are many other options out their depending on how much money you can spend.
Safe Listening!
H/T: NBC