Effect of Listening to Music Over Ear Phones/Head Phones on Hearing

ABSTRACT

Music has always been an effective way to pass time. With the advent of cell phones, most of the people have an easy means to access music as almost all the phones are capable of playing music. Low quality ear phones are available at an affordable price. Adolescent and young adults are potentially at risk of hearing loss by listening to music with ear phones / head phones. Aim: The present study is an effort to know the effect of listening to music for longer duration through ear phones in young adults. Methods: The present study is conducted at Government Medical College, Anantapuramu on 100 subjects. 50 subjects who listened to music through ear phones for more than 2 hours/day and for 2 years or more were included in group A. 50 subjects who very occasionally used ear phones were included in group B. All subjects were made to undergo Pure Tone Audiometry in the audiometry room in both ears using pure tones of 250 Hz – 12000 Hz frequencies. Results: None of the subjects in Group B reported any hearing problem. Self-reported hearing problems in group A participants recorded. In Group A, 66% of subjects had no hearing problems and 34% of subjects had different hearing problems. There is significant increase in hearing threshold of Group A subjects at high frequencies compared to Group B. Conclusion: The output levels from cell phone are high enough to cause music induced hearing loss when phones are used at high volume for long periods. It is necessary to educate oneself about the dangers and use methods to prevent its harmful effects. Regular audiometric screening of all mobile phone users is recommended.