Since their debut in the marketplace, iPods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. iPod hard drives store up to 300 hours of music, batteries last for 12 hours, and the volume can be cranked up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a chain saw or pneumatic drill, and equivalent to a jet plane taking off! But iPod fans are being warned to turn their music down. Even manufacturer, Apple, includes a cautionary note with every iPod, warning, “permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume.”

Currently, 16 million baby boomers have hearing loss and the number is expected to surge to 78 million by 2030. Amazingly, nearly three-quarters of them admit that they have never visited a doctor or hearing health specialist to have a hearing test. In spite of this lack of concern, there are more boomers aged 46 to 64 with hearing loss than seniors over the age of 65 with the same condition, and hearing loss among baby boomers is 26 percent more common than in previous generations.

Loud music and noise causes hearing loss by damaging the delicate hair nerve cells in the cochlea, a part of the inner ear that helps transmit sound impulses to the brain. These hair cells often recover from temporary hurt. But, permanent hurt can occur with prolonged exposure to extremely loud or moderately loud noise. When these nerve hair cells are ruined, irreversible hearing loss results.

Many people who listen to iPods in noisy environments pump up the volume to perilous levels to drown out background noise. Busy city hubs and subway noise (around 90 decibels) are already sufficiently loud to cause permanent hurt with considerable exposure. Although the hurt from chronic exposure to these sound levels is generally slow, it is cumulative. Music lovers who tolerate noise levels above 85 decibels for long periods will end up with irreversible hearing loss.

Here are five steps you can take to protect yourself from hearing loss:

Limit the volume of your iPod to 60 decibels (db), about two-thirds of the maximum volume.

Try to limit listening to no more than 60 minutes a day.

Wear sound-isolating or noise-canceling headphones that fit over the ear, instead of ear buds that are inserted directly in the ear. This is because when using ear buds, you still hear the external noise. You turn up the volume to drown out the noise, boosting the sound signals by as much as six to nine decibels over the noise. You can hear the music from your iPod, but you are unaware of the excessive volume.

Take advantage of the free download Apple is now offering for the iPod Nano, and iPod models with video-playback capabilities. The download contains a setting to limit the volume.

If you are experiencing tinnitus (ringing in the ears), muffled sound after listening to your iPod, or you are having difficulty hearing conversations, visit to a physician and take a hearing test.

During my first 20 years in hearing health practice, our clientele were mainly seniors around 75 years of age. But, over the past 10 years, I have noticed a huge difference in our clientele. Nowadays, baby boomers of all ages are making appointments, and most of them have noise-induced hearing loss.

Loud rock music and living life ‘full on’ in an amplified noisy society have contributed to hearing loss amongst baby boomers. Nevertheless, if we follow the iPod 60-60 Protection Plot, we can delight in our iPods and continue to live life to the fullest.

Since their debut in the marketplace, iPods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. iPod hard drives store up to 300 hours of music, batteries last for 12 hours, and the volume can be cranked up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a chain saw or pneumatic drill, and equivalent to a jet plane taking off! But iPod fans are being warned to turn their music down. Even manufacturer, Apple, includes a cautionary note with every iPod, warning, “permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume.”

Currently, 16 million baby boomers have hearing loss and the number is expected to surge to 78 million by 2030. Amazingly, nearly three-quarters of them admit that they have never visited a doctor or hearing health specialist to have a hearing test. In spite of this lack of concern, there are more boomers aged 46 to 64 with hearing loss than seniors over the age of 65 with the same condition, and hearing loss among baby boomers is 26 percent more common than in previous generations.

Loud music and noise causes hearing loss by damaging the delicate hair nerve cells in the cochlea, a part of the inner ear that helps transmit sound impulses to the brain. These hair cells often recover from temporary hurt. But, permanent hurt can occur with prolonged exposure to extremely loud or moderately loud noise. When these nerve hair cells are ruined, irreversible hearing loss results.

Many people who listen to iPods in noisy environments pump up the volume to perilous levels to drown out background noise. Busy city hubs and subway noise (around 90 decibels) are already sufficiently loud to cause permanent hurt with considerable exposure. Although the hurt from chronic exposure to these sound levels is generally slow, it is cumulative. Music lovers who tolerate noise levels above 85 decibels for long periods will end up with irreversible hearing loss.
Here are five steps you can take to protect yourself from hearing loss:

1. Limit the volume of your iPod to 60 decibels (db), about two-thirds of the maximum volume.
2. Try to limit listening to no more than 60 minutes a day.

3. Wear sound-isolating or noise-canceling headphones that fit over the ear, instead of ear buds that are inserted directly in the ear.  This is because when using ear buds, you still hear the external noise. You turn up the volume to drown out the noise, boosting the sound signals by as much as six to nine decibels over the noise. You can hear the music from your iPod, but you are unaware of the excessive volume.

4. Take advantage of the free download Apple is now offering for the iPod Nano, and iPod models with video-playback capabilities.  The download contains a setting to limit the volume.

5. If you are experiencing tinnitus (ringing in the ears), muffled sound after listening to your iPod, or you are having difficulty hearing conversations, visit to a physician and take a hearing test.

During my first 20 years in hearing health practice, our clientele were mainly seniors around 75 years of age. But, over the past 10 years, I have noticed a huge difference in our clientele. Nowadays, baby boomers of all ages are making appointments, and most of them have noise-induced hearing loss.

Loud rock music and living life ‘full on’ in an amplified noisy society have contributed to hearing loss amongst baby boomers. Nevertheless, if we follow the iPod 60-60 Protection Plot, we can delight in our iPods and continue to live life to the fullest.

While the sounds of the city might be a symphony to some, they can feel more like an aural assault at other times. After all, the hustle and bustle of countless taxis, honking horns, and construction can start to wear on one’s nerves after awhile. And if you add into that a particularly bustling or vibrant neighborhood where you’re likely to hear lots of music, the pulsing bass from clubs, and other noises, you might find yourself going a small bit crazy if you haven’t gotten the peace and silent that you need on occasion.

Far more than stress, though, city dwellers have to worry a bit more about hearing loss. Because of the fact that the world’s largest and busiest cities are consistently being recorded as louder and louder, it doesn’t take as much time to experience the negative effect of being around a racket 24/7. And while it makes sense to delight in some peaceful music or a podcast while waiting on a subway platform, the fact is that those who try to drown out the bustle of the city with headphones are often just hastening hearing loss, since blasting more noise into your ears isn’t the ideal solution to the problem.

The excellent news, though, is that a few simple changes in one’s lifestyle can lead to a world of improvement with one’s hearing. And there’s no reason to start considering a silent life in the suburbs if you want to take excellent care of yourself; there are plenty of ways to diminish the hurt of perpetual noise from a buzzing metropolis that don’t require such desperate measures. The first and most effective step is learning when to take a break. If you’ve been in a particularly loud and crowded neighborhood for a couple of hours, try to retreat to somewhere that isn’t quite as noisy. A break from the din is not just excellent for your hearing, but also for your stress levels.

Another vital thing to consider is that you cannot drown out the noise of the city with louder objects. So don’t invest in a stereo system designed to place others to shame, and then crank it all the way to 10 each time your neighbor decides it’s a fantastic time to practice trombone at seven in the morning on a Sunday. The best method to avoiding the noise of the city is really investing in a pair of noise-canceling headphones, and trying to find a silent spot to relax. This also goes for riding in the car; you don’t want to turn the volume all the way up on your stereo, lest you do some serious hearing hurt that way.

If you’re spending a lot of time running around, whether on foot or by bicycle or subway, you might want to kill two birds with one stone and listen to a favorite radio program or album. But the distress with this, even though portable music players have never been more affordable, is the fact that you are often blocking out the noises that you really need to pay attention to. Especially for bicyclists, it is crucial to remember how vital your hearing is when it comes to having a safe ride.

For anyone who is concerned about long-term hearing loss, blasting music loudly in headphones while riding an already-noisy subway car is not going to place you on the path to avoiding the need for help with hearing. Try to not overload your ears, and you’ll find yourself far more pleased in the long run.

While consistently louder cities and the growing popularity of earbud headphones have led to an overall increased level of hearing loss, there are still certain vocations that are harder hit than others. While those who work with heavy-duty machinery on a regular basis are still at the top of the hearing loss game, another group of people also have consistently high levels of hearing loss: musicians.

The problem for many musicians is that they don’t want to seem “nerdy” by doing something about their hearing, whether it’s in the audience at a show or onstage for an entire tour. It’s simple to see why this might be a problem for say, a swarthy frontman, when you go to the local pharmacy and see the selection of earplugs available, most of them neon orange or purple.

The truth is, while those drugstore earplugs are helpful for preventing hearing loss if worn on occasion, if you are constantly exposing your ears to loud noise, it might be worth it to get a custom-made pair of earplugs. This way, the sound will be more effectively be blocked out and your hearing will be preserved for longer. These sort of earplugs are often clear or tan colored, fit into one’s ear just like hearing aids, and are non obtrusive and hard to notice.

While investing in custom-made ear plugs might be helpful for preserving the hearing you already have left, the best means of protection for one’s hearing is not letting the hurt be done in the first place. It’s never too late to fix terrible habits, especially when it comes to one’s hearing. If you are usually running to the front of a concert and standing right next to the speakers, reconsider this choice. Usually, the tinnitus the next day is enough to dissuade someone from doing that for a couple of concerts, but sometimes, after you’ve experienced more hearing loss, you don’t even notice the pain your ears feel after a couple of nights of that.

In addition to staying away from the speakers at concerts, consider speakers at home. Are you practicing a lot of electric guitar or drums in your studio space? Be sure to block that out by wearing earplugs even while practicing. Listening to a lot of final mixes in headphones and cranking the volume up? Instead of doing that, use monitor speakers, or at least invest in noise-cancelling headphones that have a setting that allows you to prevent the music from getting turned up any higher than it needs to be.

Hearing problems are no fun for  anyone, but it doesn’t have to be an issue if you are willing to make some life changes. And really, there is not much that’s less hip than someone who keeps having to question, “what?” every time someone tells them nice show, so you’ll be doing yourself a favor by working so hard to preserve your hearing in 20 years or so. After all, as a musician, the most vital sense you possibly have is your hearing, so why would you ever want to make light of that and have a chance for it to be hurt beyond repair? It’s just not a excellent career choice or personal go.

Since their debut in the marketplace, iPods have revolutionized the way we listen to music. iPod hard drives store up to 300 hours of music, batteries last for 12 hours, and the volume can be cranked up to 120 decibels. That’s louder than a chain saw or pneumatic drill, and equivalent to a jet plane taking off! But iPod fans are being warned to turn their music down. Even manufacturer, Apple, includes a cautionary note with every iPod, warning, “permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume. ”

Currently, 16 million baby boomers have hearing loss and the number is expected to surge to 78 million by 2030. Amazingly, nearly three-quarters of them admit that they have never visited a doctor or hearing health specialist to have a hearing test. In spite of this lack of concern, there are more boomers aged 46 to 64 with hearing loss than seniors over the age of 65 with the same condition, and hearing loss among baby boomers is 26 percent more common than in previous generations.

Loud music and noise causes hearing loss by damaging the delicate hair nerve cells in the cochlea, a part of the inner ear that helps transmit sound impulses to the brain. These hair cells often recover from temporary hurt. But, permanent hurt can occur with prolonged exposure to extremely loud or moderately loud noise. When these nerve hair cells are ruined, irreversible hearing loss results.

Many people who listen to iPods in noisy environments pump up the volume to perilous levels to drown out background noise. Busy city hubs and subway noise (around 90 decibels) are already sufficiently loud to cause permanent hurt with considerable exposure. Although the hurt from chronic exposure to these sound levels is generally slow, it is cumulative. Music lovers who tolerate noise levels above 85 decibels for long periods will end up with irreversible hearing loss.

Here are five steps you can take to protect yourself from hearing loss:

Limit the volume of your iPod to 60 decibels (db), about two-thirds of the maximum volume.

Try to limit listening to no more than 60 minutes a day.

Wear sound-isolating or noise-canceling headphones that fit over the ear, instead of ear buds that are inserted directly in the ear. This is because when using ear buds, you still hear the external noise. You turn up the volume to drown out the noise, boosting the sound signals by as much as six to nine decibels over the noise. You can hear the music from your iPod, but you are unaware of the excessive volume.

Take advantage of the free download Apple is now offering for the iPod Nano, and iPod models with video-playback capabilities. The download contains a setting to limit the volume.

If you are experiencing tinnitus (ringing in the ears), muffled sound after listening to your iPod, or you are having difficulty hearing conversations, visit to a physician and take a hearing test.

During my first 20 years in hearing health practice, our clientele were mainly seniors around 75 years of age. But, over the past 10 years, I have noticed a huge difference in our clientele. Nowadays, baby boomers of all ages are making appointments, and most of them have noise-induced hearing loss.

Loud rock music and living life ‘full on’ in an amplified noisy society have contributed to hearing loss amongst baby boomers. Nevertheless, if we follow the iPod 60-60 Protection Plot, we can delight in our iPods and continue to live life to the fullest.