Is listening to headphones at low volume bad
Is listening to headphones at low volume bad
Many people use headphones for hours on end without realizing they are doing damage to their ears.
Now the question is, Is it bad to use headphones with low volume?
Listening at a lower volume is better for your ears, but everything has its limits. Even when you listen at low volume, there’s still the risk of damage to your ear over time. While it’s impossible to give numerical guidelines on how much sound each person can take without hurting their ears (because we’re not clones and our hearing abilities vary), keep in mind that anything over 70 decibels has the potential to cause problems. This includes music played through headphones or speakers, lawnmowers, or hair dryers.
Sound becomes noise when it reaches a certain level — anything above that is considered painful and potentially harmful. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) rates noise levels from 0 to 140 decibels. Normal speech is about 60 decibels, a humming refrigerator is 40 decibels, and a motorcycle engine can be 100 decibels.
Although there’s no specific volume at which you’ll definitely damage your hearing, the louder the sound, the faster you’re likely to do so. Once the noise reaches about 80 decibels, it has the potential to cause temporary or permanent damage if you don’t turn it down or stop listening completely.

In general:
• Anything over 95-100 decibels (such as lawnmowers and motorcycles) for even short durations (a few minutes on occasion) can potentially cause some degree of hearing loss.
• Anything above 110-120 decibels (such as sporting events and concerts) for even short durations (a few minutes on occasion) can potentially cause some degree of permanent hearing loss.
• Anything above 130 decibels is very likely to cause immediate, permanent hearing loss.
Can low-volume headphones damage hearing?
We know sound above 70 decibels can potentially damage hearing, and louder sounds (above 80 decibels) definitely do damage. But what about the lower end of the spectrum? At what volume level does headphone listening become dangerous?
The truth is that anything over a certain volume can damage your ears. Since you don’t have a way to measure the actual decibel level in an enclosed space in which you’re listening to headphones, it’s best not to take chances when it comes to protecting your hearing from potential harm from any source.
In fact, loud noise exposure has been shown to cause cochlear damage before birth and during infancy in experimental animals by studies conducted in Japan after World War II
Another study found that teenagers are more susceptible to noise-induced hearing loss than other age groups. According to their results, listening to loud music for an hour through headphones raises the equivalent noise level by about 14 decibels, which could lead to permanent hearing loss after just one session.
According to the researchers, “These findings suggest that listening habits may be significant risk factors for hearing loss in adolescents.”
Experts believe that sound volumes above 85 decibels can damage hair cells in the ear over time. The amount of time it takes you to develop tinnitus or hyperacusis depends on the amount of damage done to the hair cells in the ear, but it’s safe to say that listening to loud music through headphones can cause hearing loss.
If you experience ringing in your ears after listening to music at low volumes for a long time, you could be damaging your ears.
The ringing is actually an indication that damage has been done and that you should stop listening immediately if possible. If not possible, turn down the volume or take frequent breaks while using headphones.
Some individuals are more sensitive than others when it comes to sound volume; this means they’ll become damaged sooner than someone with naturally resistant ears (who will keep their hearing ability longer). Those who work around loud noise or music on a basis (such as people who work as DJs) will become damaged sooner as well.
It’s generally recommended that you listen to volumes under 70 decibels for an extended period of time; listening to lower levels won’t necessarily protect you from damage, but may help delay or prevent it.
If possible, turn the volume down on your music player if you don’t want to stop listening altogether. Just remember: once noise gets too loud for too long, it does potential harm no matter what the volume level is set at.
Recommendations:
• Listen to headphones below 70 decibels for an extended period of time.
• If you experience any hearing problems, such as ringing in the ears, turn down or stop listening to headphones immediately.
• Remind teenagers and children not to listen to music too loudly, especially with headphones on.
Remember: Anything can damage your hearing if you’re exposed to it long enough and at high enough volume levels.
Is low volume good for ears?
Well, the truth is anything over a certain decibel level can cause damage to your ears.
Many people think they can ignore sound above 85 decibels when they listen to music through headphones, but they’re wrong!
No matter what noise level it’s at, all noises for an extended period of time will cause potential damage no matter what the volume level is set at.
What is a safe listening volume?
In general, safe volumes are those with which you can carry on a conversation with people around you without raising your voice and compromising their privacy as well as understanding them clearly even in loud environments such as living rooms or commuter trains.
There is no official safe volume for listening to headphones used in general life; whether at work, during traveling, or at home.
The best reference found was the World Health Organization (WHO) which stated that “more than 1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of permanent hearing loss due to the unsafe use of personal audio devices, including smartphones, and exposure to damaging levels of sound at clubs, concerts and other live music events.
If we talk about general daily life and headphones, there is no definite answer yet. There’s a lot of disagreement among different health and hearing associations and professionals even in the United States. The only thing that they agree on is that if you listen to music or any other audio at high volumes for too long, it can damage your hearing.
What volume is too loud??
It’s still not clear what volume is considered damaging over a longer period of time. So there is no definite answer to this question yet.
According to an article from Quartz, we can say that the safest volume would be the lowest volume at which you’re able to still understand and communicate with your environment.
However, it’s important to remember that everyone has different hearing abilities, so the minimum acceptable sound levels for one person may be too high or too low for another person which makes them more susceptible to damage from noise exposure.
Conclusion:
Now you know what the safe volume is, so don’t be afraid to turn up your favorite tunes! Just make sure not to exceed 70 decibels.
Our blog post has provided a lot of information about how loud music can affect our hearing and health in general. We’re always happy to help out with some sound advice from experts who care about keeping people safe from noise-induced injuries.
If you have any questions or need more details on anything we’ve discussed, just leave us a comment below.
What’s been your experience? Did this article change how much time you spend listening to high volumes? Let me know by leaving a comment below!
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