According to a new study, how we listen to music - through headphones or at a concert - and the volume we pump it up to can potentially result in wide-scale hearing loss.
The study, published by the BMJ Global Health Journal and entitled Prevalence and global estimates of unsafe listening practices in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis, says in an excerpt that "0.67–1.35 billion adolescents and young adults worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss from exposure to unsafe listening practices".
The new research in the study compiled 33 different studies from 35 records featuring more than 19,000 young people aged 12 to 34. Seventeen said papers focused on personal listening devices and headphones, while 18 explored live music venues. The BMJ study has found that around 25% of young people listen to music at unsafe decibel levels, and 48% of young people have been exposed to dangerous decibel levels at gigs.
Currently, the world population of teens and young adults sits at an estimated 2.8 billion. The study has discovered that 670 million to 1.35 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss.
While the study explores far more factors and evidence than we've cited, the primary results are in the conclusion quoted below:
"Exposure to unsafe listening practices from voluntary use of PLDs and attendance at loud entertainment venues is highly prevalent in adolescents and young adults. It is estimated that 0.67–1.35 billion adolescents and young adults worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss from exposure to unsafe listening practices. There is an urgent need for governments, industry and civil society to prioritize global hearing loss prevention by promoting safe listening practices. WHO global standards, recommendations and toolkits are available to aid in the development and implementation of policy and public health initiatives to promote safe listening worldwide."
Read the full report here.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
The report comes as Slipknot's drummer Jay Weinberg has warned his audience of the dangers of not protecting your hearing. He has lent his support to the Hearing Health Foundation, the largest non-profit funder that works to prevent and cure hearing loss and tinnitus through research and promotes hearing health.
In a video shared by the foundation, he said: "We had a great day jamming, but then the next morning, I had no high-end frequencies in my hearing. I thought I honestly lost my hearing altogether, and I was really frightened because I didn't know how to deal with that.
"Ever since that day, I've never sat down at a kit and played the way I play without hearing protection, not even once. It's not an option. These are dangerous tools that we have, and we have to use them carefully and not shortchange ourselves for the experience of playing music and still play super hard and still play super loud, but it has to be done intelligently.
"For me personally, I don't go to a single show without wearing earplugs. I don't go on stage without wearing earplugs or in-ear monitors where I can hear myself and my bandmates. It's incredibly important, and if I had not worn earplugs and in-ear monitors from a young age, I might have done a tremendous amount of damage to my hearing."
He closed the video by saying, "So I strongly encourage you, wear earplugs, do it the right way, do it intelligently. You can still rock out, you can still play the way you want to, and you'll be able to play for the rest of your life."
