How to avoid iPod ear damage
When using personal listening devices, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends turning the volume down, limiting listening time to an hour a day and taking frequent listening breaks.
Here are more tips from ASHA and audiologist Dennis Burrows.
- If you have a 10-notch scale, keep the setting at 6 or below.
- If your ears are ringing or feel "full" or if speech sounds muffled, the music was too loud.
- iPods now include software that allow you to "lock" the volume at a safe level. Parents can set a combination that kids can’t crack.
- Upgrade from earbuds to headphones that fit outside the ear and block out unwanted sound. Look for earphones or headphones that block out excess background noise like sound isolating earphones from Shure or noise cancelling headphones like those from Bose. "Blocking out excess background noise is what really allows you to listen at a lower level - it doesn't really matter if the earphones are inside your ears or positioned on the outside," said a spokeswoman for Shure.
- Remember that earbuds don't eliminate background noise, which means listeners tend to crank up the volume dangerously high.
- To find out what volume settings go above 85 decibels—the safe listening level—go to ASHA's site.
- If you have an Apple iPod or iShuffle this site allows you to download a software update so you can set the volume limit of your iPod to a safe level. Set the volume while listening in a quiet room, and "be sure the volume is set to a level where you can hear someone near speaking to you," Burrows advises.
- If you know an audiologist, ask him or her to assess the volume settings of the MP3 player using a sound level meter.
- Do not use your MP3 player as hearing protection when mowing a lawn or working around noise.