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The wide use of headphones has become very common among many people. So many persons tend to love tunes at louder volumes, especially the youths.
Using your headphones at such loud volumes might be pleasing for you, but your ears are the ones to suffer the consequences. The aftereffects and risk are crucial things you should consider.
It’s advised by experts to maintain a level of sound at a point between 60 and 85 decibels anytime you’re listening to whatever playing on your headphones. It will help to lessen the harm that high sounds can bring to your ears. Moreover, do ensure you limit the use of your headphones to about 15 minutes when you use them for about 100 decibels.
Moreover, a lot of people possess varied listening limits. Individually, it’s wise to be able to detect if your earphones are too loud for you. This can be done in six various ways which we will be explaining in this article.
Perform a Ringing Test
This ringing test is an easy one to undertake. This test is effective in checking your sound levels. All you need is an ordinary pair of foam earplugs alongside a very quiet environment.
Also, you should give your headphones much break and avoid loud tunes for a while. Do this when possible to get the best out of the test. A time frame of two or three days would be fine for this abstinence.
Afterward, stay in a quiet space and fix the earplugs in your ears. You should stay still and relaxed while doing it, then examine your hearing and your breathing carefully. Nevertheless, at your still position, you would discover your baseline level in your ears; it is the very insignificant jingling in your ears after you do the test.
Go on with your regular headphone activity the following day. Still, in a calm position, perform the ringing test again in the evening time of the same day. Now, after the second test and the jingling in your ears seems louder than that experienced in your previous test, your headphones might be too loud and unsafe to use at such volume.
Perform this test regularly to be able to measure the impact of the volume level of your headphones. It’s safe if the subsequent jingling in your ears is about that of your baseline level, but if it sounds more severe, you have to turn the volume down; like one or two levels back.
Ask a Friend for Aid
Put on your headphones at your preferred volume, then ask a friend, when your music is on, to sit beside you and listen to spot any sound emitting from your headphones. However, if your friend can hear your music, it’s too high.
It is not ideal to use open-back headphones to do this. Headphones of this category tend to leak no matter which level the volume is at. There are other types of headphones with much benefits as well as some flaws.
Check Volume Control
Undoubtedly, some music appears to be better listened to at high levels. People find it easy to turn up the loud volumes especially when listening to their best tunes. If you’re ignorant of such a habit, you might be inviting hearing loss.
Monitoring your headphones’ volume regularly can help reduce the risk associated with loud headphones. You should always check your volume control if it’s at a safe mark. The volume is too much for your ear if it’s above 60% or two-thirds of your volume control.
Hold Out Your Headphones in Front of You
This is very effective in checking how loud your headphones are. It’s a simple one you can do.
First, take off your headphones while it’s at your best volume. Afterward, hold out your headphones. It should be in front of you (arm’s length). As you do that, carefully listen if you can still hear the music playing. If the music still sounds clear, repeat the process with a much lower volume.
The essence of this practice is to know if your preferred volume needs to be tuned down or not. This all means that the lower the sound, the safer it is for your ears.
Use a Sound Meter to Measure Sound Level
Another means to check how loud your headphones are is through a sound meter measurement. With a sound level chart, you can ascertain what level is suitable for you after measurement.
On this chart, it is indicated that the normal sound level for audio gadgets is 94 decibels. However, this level might still be unsafe. So, it’s safer to maintain a lower sound level than the 94 marks is safer. Meanwhile, it should be about 10–20 decibels lower.
The accuracy a sound meter provides isn’t strictly correct. There’s a potential difference between the sound detected by the sound meter and the one launched into your ears. So, try taking salt a bit while measuring.
Look Out For Signs of Hearing Loss
The habitual listening to loud volumes is more among youths. When you continue listening to sounds at high volumes without the necessary regulations, hearing loss might be inevitable. Many persons experience this without even knowing. However, the signs below can tell you might be experiencing it.
– Irritable sounds in the ear; like clicking, jingling, rumbling, or humming noises
– Most sounds appear inaudible
– Trouble hearing at rowdy areas
– An irresistible urge to keep raising the volume high
Conclusion
Owing to the strong desire for audible tunes, many people are very ignorant of the fact that loud tunes from their headphones can be detrimental to their ears. However, there are high quality headphones‘ you can try out, like ones with the Active Noise Cancellation feature
This feature helps to drown out surrounding sounds making it clearer for your to enjoy your tunes at low sound levels.
It’s wise to regularly take breaks off from your headphones. This practice provides your ears with the adequate rest it deserves.
With this article, we hope we’ve helped understand the safe levels of your headphones and how you could protect your hearing over time.
