[portaear]

Watching this brand new video posted today was a major downer.  I wear earbuds most of the time because they are convenient to carry, keeps my ears cool, and are cheaper than over the ear or on the ear monitors...
 
Now I'm a little concerned and anxious about doing so...  
 
Any veterans of IEMs care to comment if you've noticed any hearing damage?
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqwOHR3df74
 
or http://www.cnet.com/videos/the-inconvenient-truth-about-wearing-earbuds/
 
I'm glad I picked up a few over the ear / on the ear monitors though - Jabra Revo, Philips SHP9500, Sennheiser HD439.  I hope I'm not doomed to wearing cans most of the time because they aren't as comfortable as IEMs...

 

[Watagump]

  Watching this brand new video posted today was a major downer.  I wear earbuds most of the time because they are convenient to carry, keeps my ears cool, and are cheaper than over the hear or on the ear monitors...
 
Now I'm a little concerned and anxious about doing so...  
 
Any veterans of IEMs care to comment if you've noticed any hearing damage?
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqwOHR3df74
 
or http://www.cnet.com/videos/the-inconvenient-truth-about-wearing-earbuds/

I have strengthened my ears over time with music volumes, that's my story and I am sticking to it.

 

[El Zilcho]

So, it's not about volume, it's the "focused" sound that is damaging the ears? And somehow a driver 10 times the size of an earbud placed a centimeter or two further from the ear is the "right" way to listen to music?

There was virtually no data, statistics or really anything of substance I that video. Just some fancy computer graphics and reference to a "study" (there seem to be lots of those these days. I forget, are eggs good for us or bad for us right now?) that "suggested" even low volumes can damage the ears.

Not saying there isn't anything to it, just not overly convinced by what that video had to offer. Where is the data? Even if in-ear phones are bad, where is the study showing that over ear phones are any better, or the "right" way? What defines "focused" sound in the context of their study data?

 

[Watagump]

So, it's not about volume, it's the "focused" sound that is damaging the ears? And somehow a driver 10 times the size of an earbud placed a centimeter or two further from the ear is the "right" way to listen to music?

There was virtually no data, statistics or really anything of substance I that video. Just some fancy computer graphics and reference to a "study" (there seem to be lots of those these days. I forget, are eggs good for us or bad for us right now?) that "suggested" even low volumes can damage the ears.

Not saying there isn't anything to it, just not overly convinced by what that video had to offer. Where is the data? Even if in-ear phones are bad, where is the study showing that over ear phones are any better, or the "right" way? What defines "focused" sound in the context of their study data?

I like to think 100db coming from anything is going to cause hearing damage. My car back in the days did 135 db, so when I took it into competition, hearing protection was mandatory.

 

[El Zilcho]

Here is a link to an article with more information.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140507142804.htm

Here is the article (clearly what the video was based on) which links the above study with earbuds. They even provide a link to the study at the bottom of the article.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/earbud-increases-hidden-hearing-loss-risk-study-article-1.2230945

Oddly, I don't see anything in the original study about earbuds or "focused" sounds. It's more about how transient (not just sustained) loud noises are more damaging to hearing than previously believed.

The article doesn't say where it got the information about earbuds. It's not a quote, and they don't give a source. They only mention that "experts" suggest limiting earbud use to 60% volume (ambiguous, as 60% volume from my receiver into earbuds would be painful) and 60 minutes a day. They don't mention experts in their recommendation to use over ear headphones instead, or in their explanation of earbuds providing more damaging waves focused directly into the ear.

 

[portaear]

Thanks for the info.  Still kind of depressing to read about the hearing damage.

You're right though, a lot of unanswered questions.
 
Our ears are the most precious investments in this hobby... I hope there will be better news ahead.

 

[Verloren]

Here is a link to an article with more information.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140507142804.htm

Here is the article (clearly what the video was based on) which links the above study with earbuds. They even provide a link to the study at the bottom of the article.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/earbud-increases-hidden-hearing-loss-risk-study-article-1.2230945

Oddly, I don't see anything in the original study about earbuds or "focused" sounds. It's more about how transient (not just sustained) loud noises are more damaging to hearing than previously believed.

The article doesn't say where it got the information about earbuds. It's not a quote, and they don't give a source. They only mention that "experts" suggest limiting earbud use to 60% volume (ambiguous, as 60% volume from my receiver into earbuds would be painful) and 60 minutes a day. They don't mention experts in their recommendation to use over ear headphones instead, or in their explanation of earbuds providing more damaging waves focused directly into the ear.

The news article didn't link to the actual publication doi: 10.1016/j.heares.2015.02.009. The paper refers to Rabinowitz's The Public Health Significance of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. That chapter points out the public health stats of NIHL in young adults entering the industrial workforce (no overall increase in this population). What the book chapter does do is propose NIHL might result in people being pre-disposed to developing NIHL earlier on due to exposure from a young age.