OVER 60 PER CENT of young people are in danger of causing permanent damage to their hearing from listening to their earphones too loudly.
The warning comes from hearing support group Deafhear.ie who say that they are conducting tests in schools around the country to measure the sound levels used by teenagers on their personal music devices.
Brendan Lennon of DeafHear.ie say that early results of the tests are worrying with three out of five young people listening to earphones at unsafe levels:
It is perfectly safe to listen to music on headphones at volumes up to 85dB. With each additional decibel you should be limiting the length of time you listen on the device. For instance, at 91dB anything more than two hours a day will cause permanent damage.
At over 100dB, exposure of more than 15 minutes per day will cause permanent and irreparable hearing damage he adds.
85 dB is about the equvilalent sound of city traffic from inside a car while 90dB is about as loud as a lawnmower.
The group wants parents to ensure that their children use ‘over ear’ head phones and not ‘in-ear’ earphone buds as research shows they are four times less likely to damage hearing.
“This is the most effective step to protect your child’s hearing, ” said Lennon.
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