It is already known in the medical community that loud music can cause injuries. In an era taken by the habit of listening to music on headphones, hearing loss has raised concern. Fortunately, this risk can be minimized with some measures and precautions.
According to otorhinolaryngologist José Fernando Polanski, professor of otorhinolaryngology at Faculdade Evangélica Mackenzie do Paraná (FEMPAR), the damage caused by loud sounds basically occurs in the hearing cells inside the cochlea, the hair cells.
The expert also says that very loud sounds can cause damage to these cells, which do not heal or recover, causing irreversible hearing loss. With regard to loud sounds, the intensity considered safe is a maximum of 85 dB for up to 8 hours of exposure.
However, the doctor himself points out a significant problem with these safety limits, since the progression is not linear, but occurs in “leaps”. In other words: at an intensity of 90dB, which more or less corresponds to the noise of a lawnmower, the safety time without protection is 2 and a half hours. At 110 dB, which corresponds approximately to the noise of a chainsaw, the safety time without protective equipment is less than 2 minutes.
As the doctor points out, the graduation of the sound intensity of the headphones is very variable from device to device. In the case of the iPhone, listening to music with medium headphones at maximum intensity reaches between 102 and 112 dB, which can cause injury after a few minutes of use.
How to preserve your hearing when using headphones
The safety of using headphones depends on the loudness of the sound, the duration of exposure to sound and the frequency of times exposure occurs. The doctor recommends leaving the volume at 60% of the device’s maximum intensity for a maximum of 60 minutes a day. Thus, the volume and time of use are limited in order to guarantee safety.
The ophthalmologist says that hearing loss caused by excessive exposure to noise cannot be reversed, but it can be easily prevented, with information and simple care. The best form of treatment, in this case, remains prevention.
In 2022, scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) discovered a new modality of regenerative therapy that reverses hearing loss through progenitor cells, which are capable of transforming into any other cell, such as stem cells, with the difference that they divide a limited number of times.
