Dr Stephen Lee, Specialist in Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery & Consultant, Raffles ENT Centre
Loud music or noise, if set at really high decibel levels and listened to for long duration, will create temporary
shifts of hearing thresholds. The extent of decrease in hearing ability at the temporary level will be proportionate to the intensity of the
sound and the duration for which the noise exposure occurs. If temporary shift of hearing continues without allowing for a period of
recovery, it will eventually lead to permanent loss of hearing.
To convince your child not to listen to music loudly on his earphones can be really difficult. Different methods will be needed
for different kids depending on their character and temperament. For some kids, educating them on the problems may be effective. Explain why
it affects their hearing ability, and what impact this will have on them. Perhaps, even mention that in the future, they may not be able to
enjoy music as much. This may work, because they obviously like to listen to music.
For other kids, it may require a harder line disciplinary type approach.
As of yet, there has not been any case of youths/patients losing their hearing due to listening of loud music. However, this is
possible that hearing loss can be little or insignificant as it is not severe yet, or the teen does not regard it as a problem. It can still
happen and not be noticed.
Tips for buying earphones and when using one
There is no study from a medical viewpoint determining specific advantages or disadvantages for using ear phones. So any advice
can be quite subjective.
1. Keep audio levels of your earphones low. If it is near 100db, you should not even be listening to it for a minute as it is
damaging to your ears. However, if you’re tuning in to a level that is around conversational voice levels, it should be safe to use for
about 2 hours. Given that the earphones are only 1.5cm away from your ear drums, the loudness of the music is definitely more damaging than
listening to a speaker 2 metres away.
2. Look for portability and this depends on the size and weight among other things. A good fit is presumed to control noise
levels and sound leakage better. It also prevents unnecessary irritation to the person standing next to you.
3. Look for sound isolating ear phones which may cut down external ambient noise, thus reducing the actual
sound levels you are listening to.