We know you like your music LOUD. We get it. You have to immerse yourself completely to escape from reality and make the necessary connection to drop into Musicland, where conventional rules don’t apply. In that other world, the world of music, true love can spark in two seconds, the weekend expands into the apex of human emotion and the club becomes an otherworldly paradise. But, you might be leaving something in that world when you unplug and leave: your hearing. If you’re listening to music too loudly and you’re not using bone conducting headphones, you could be permanently damaging your ears.
We have compiled a breakdown to show you how loud other normal things are, so you can think about what you’re putting your poor ears through.
How Loud are Things?
- Refrigerator
The humming of a refrigerator is roughly 40 decibels. Those 40 decibels can certainly register clearly when there’s nothing else to hear in your home in the dead of night. - Lawn Mower
The loud noise of a lawn mower can emit roughly 90 decibels. You know that awful sound that wakes you up, and keeps you up, when you just want to sleep in on the weekend? That is 90 decibels! - Chainsaw
The sound of a chainsaw is roughly 110 decibels. It’s probably a good thing you can hear one coming. - Rock Concert
A rock concert can reach 140 decibels. The ringing you hear in your ears the next day only goes away because your ears are damaged and are hearing less, permanently. I’m sure it was a terrific set, but is it worth it?
Checking out interesting decibels in this Decibel (Loudness) Comparison Chart will help you understand the volume levels of other noise sources and how they can affect your hearing.
Where do headphones fit into all this, you might wonder? MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, estimates that standard headphones emit around 110 decibels at full volume. If that sounds familiar, it’s because you just read the same number for a chainsaw’s decibels. In our noisy lives, plugging in your headphones can be a great way to escape, but the human ear is like any other part of your body—too much use and it may become damaged. The risk of damaging your hearing can depend on a few things when listening to music.
The Risk of Damage to Your Hearing Depends on:
- How loud the music is
- How close you may be to speakers
- How long and how often you are exposed to loud music
- Headphone use
- Family history of hearing loss
In a recent Net Doctor article, hearing expert Robert Beiny advises you to use the 60/60 rule. “You should only listen to music at 60 percent volume, and you shouldn’t listen for more than 60 minutes in one sitting,” says Beiny. AfterShokz sport headphones are an innovative way to listen to music and reduce the risk of damage to your hearing. Rather than using the eardrum to transmit sound, our open ear headphones utilize patent pending bone conduction technology to deliver sound through the listener’s cheekbones to the inner ear. This means you can safely enjoy the stereophonic experience you crave. Let your music take you away to where it is you need to go, but don’t leave your hearing there when you return.
How are your AfterShokz headphones helping you? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to learn more about our bone conduction technology, see what we’re up to, or just to tell us how you feel. There’s no need to yell though. We’re hearing just fine!
