Earbuds vs. Headphones What’s Better for Your Ears?

Reducing the future odds of acquiring hearing loss can be best achieved by avoiding trauma caused by noise. While most of us are aware that extremely loud noises, such as jet engines and noisy construction equipment, can be damaging to our ears, we are often unaware of another common culprit: listening to music through earbuds or headphones. This activity can do serious harm to our ears.

The majority of us use our headphones to listen to music when working out or traveling, which helps to brighten our days. Furthermore, playing music at a much lower decibel level than roaring cars can still induce hearing loss because it is closer to the ear canal.

In order to preserve your hearing health, headphones are a much better option if you can't listen to music over a speaker. Headphones are less likely to result in hearing loss as you don't have to force them into your ear canal. Furthermore, because earbuds are in closer proximity to your eardrums, they amplify sound by a minimum of 9 decibels, which has the potential to induce irreversible hearing loss.

This article will address a number of topics, including whether earbuds or headphones are better for your ears, how loud noises can harm your hearing, how to use headphones to prevent damage and protect your ears, and much more.

How Do Loud Noises From Headphones Hurt Your Ears?

If you enjoy listening to sounds at maximum volume, wearing headphones or earbuds while listening to loud music may result in noise-induced hearing loss. The fact that our ears are complex organs like any other is becoming less of a mystery.

Because our ancestors had to be able to hear faint, delicate noises in order to hunt food and avoid predators, our ears have evolved over time as a result of survival. Simply put, loud noises are beyond the range of our ears' tolerance.

Loud music amplifies the vibrations in our ear canals, causing excessive strength that overwhelms the hair cells, leading to their improper functioning.

The worst that can happen if you listen to music at a safe volume for an extended period of time is that you could harm the sensitivity of your hair cells and have hearing problems in noisy environments. The good news is that this is reversible.

But if you listen to loud music for extended periods of time every day, you may cause the hair cells in your ears to completely stop vibrating in response to sound waves. This condition is known as noise-induced hearing loss, and it occurs when the damage to your hair cells is irreversible and beyond repair.

Hearing Damage From Headphones vs. Earbuds

You should use headphones if you want to prevent hearing loss without sacrificing a fantastic listening experience.

Headphones cause less damage than earbuds in terms of music volume because they are worn outside of the ear. Furthermore, earbuds position themselves closer to the inner ear and direct music into it, resulting in an increase of roughly 9 dB in volume.

The World Health Organization claims that using earphones can worsen conditions by increasing the risk of ear infections and damage. By producing blockages, which can be excruciatingly painful, pushing your earphones into your ears stimulates the accumulation of ear wax and fluid in your middle ear.

Headphones are less likely to encourage the growth of bacteria and viruses within your ears since they do not prevent air from entering your ears.

Another reason to avoid wearing earphones for extended periods of time is the discomfort they can cause, although this can be avoided if you know how to wear headphones appropriately. Earbuds may not always fit well in your ears due to their one-size-fits-all design, which increases the risk of ear injury.

What Is the Best Way to Wear Headphones Without Hurting Your Eardrums?

Even though headphones are significantly superior to earbuds, improper use of them can still result in hearing loss. Here are some tips for minimizing the chance of irreversible hearing loss when wearing headphones.

1.Volume limitations are useful

Set your volume low, at about 85 dB, or 60% or less of your device's maximum volume level, to avoid playing explosive sounds every time you listen to music.

Fortunately, the majority of apps, such as Google Play Music, notify you when the volume level you're using is too high and may cause hearing loss. You can safely stream music for up to 25 hours while you listen to it at 80 dB.

Some gadgets have the potential to reach up to 160 decibels when left unregulated, which is twice the level that experts advise.

2.Get headphones with noise cancellation

Another important thing to think about is selecting the appropriate headphones. Purchasing noise-cancelling headphones is essential if you live in a noisy area. Even loud noises from your surroundings can harm your hearing, which is why noise-canceling headphones are a fantastic, safe option for music listening.

In addition, you are less inclined to raise the volume when listening to music because the noise-canceling feature of noise-canceling headphones blocks out outside noise.

3.Restrict your exposure to noisy environments

Reducing the amount of time you spend listening can also help reduce the chance of noise-induced hearing loss. Most people generally adhere to the recommendation of 85 dB music for up to 8 hours each day. You should limit the amount of time you spend listening to louder music.

4.Put on over-the-ear headphones

Indeed, among all the numerous varieties of headphones, over-ear headphones are the safest. Over-ear headphones are much safer and offer a more even distribution of music to your ears because they are positioned in your outer ear rather than your eardrums, like earbuds do.

5.Adhere to the 60-60 rule

According to the 60-60 rule, you should only listen to music for 60 minutes a day at a maximum volume of 60% on your music player. This simple measure reduces your exposure and decreases your volume level, achieving two goals at once.

6.Never lend out headphones

Sharing headphones is a surefire way to promote the transmission of viruses and bacteria, both of which can lead to hearing loss. When contaminated earwax spreads from one person to another, it may lodge itself inside your ear canal and result in irreversible hearing loss. It may also adhere to your headphones.

In Summary

One of the best ways to add some enjoyment to even the most tedious tasks is to listen to music. You must keep in mind, though, that even though these seemingly innocuous behaviors may seem innocent, they may be harmful to your hearing.

With this educational post, we hope you will know more about the differences between earbuds and headphones and which is best for your hearing.

Frequently Asked Questions

1.Which is worse for hearing: earbuds or headphones?

It's true that earbuds are terrible for hearing. They create obstructions and promote the accumulation of fluid and earwax in your ears by playing music that is much louder and closer to your inner ear.

2.Do earbuds damage your hearing?

The way we use earbuds increases our chance of experiencing noise-induced trauma, which eventually leads to hearing loss. The earbuds themselves do not damage our hearing.

3.Are earbuds or headphones healthier?

Indeed, young individuals who listen to music should consider using headphones in order to lower their chance of irreversible hearing loss.

4.How can you take care of hearing damage caused by loud music?

Since most hearing losses are irreversible, prevention may be the best course of action. With hearing aids, though, you might be able to hear once again. Simply go to your neighborhood hospital and receive treatment as soon as possible.