How harmful is it to wear headphones for a long time? What is the correct way to use headphones?

People wear headphones in many situations, such as when listening to music, watching drama, playing sports or fitness games, and so on. Headphones have become a necessity of life. But do you know? Long-term use of headphones, as well as improper use of headphones, can cause varying degrees of damage to the ears.

Long periods of wearing headphones do not result in their removal; how serious is the harm?

1. Cause hearing damage

The hair cells of the inner ear, located in the cochlea, are the main "transmitters" of the entire hearing system and transmit external sounds to the auditory nerve. The number of such cells is limited and they are a "non-renewable scarce resource", one less than the other. Long-term use of headphones, hair cells are forced to continue to "work", and long-term exhaustion will cause irreversible auditory damage.

2. Cause ear disease

When you wear headphones for an extended period, the air does not circulate, and bacteria are more prone to breed in the ear hole and auricle. Once the ear bacteria multiply and are difficult to detect until our ears begin to react, it may be too late, triggering eardrum irritation and tinnitus, resulting in hearing loss.

Is it okay as long as you don't wear headphones for an extended period? Cannot because the volume of the headphones is too high. A level more than 85 decibels is likely to create auditory fatigue, while a volume greater than 110 decibels is likely to cause the loss of inner ear hair cells, resulting in irreversible auditory impairment. Many people like to wear headphones in a noisy environment, in this case, to hear the sound in the headphones, will unconsciously turn up the volume of the headphones, not knowing that it is beyond the range of the ear can bear.

How to use headphones correctly?

1. Choose the right headphones. In a quiet environment, the safety of the headset style can be divided into headband = semi-in-ear > in-ear. In a noisy environment, try not to use headphones, if you must use headphones, you can choose better-quality noise-canceling headphones.

2. Follow the "60-60 rule of use", that is, the volume of headphones does not exceed 60%, and headphones do not exceed 60 minutes at a time. Remember not to wear headphones to sleep.

3. Do not constantly turn up the volume of headphones in pursuit of clarity and sound quality. In noisy environments, it is recommended to use headphones to meet the demand for sound quality.

4. Clean the headphones regularly to prevent the residue of bacteria from breeding in the ear canal.