Can mp3 players damage your hearing?

The short answer is "yes they can"

 Listening to loud music on a regular basis can wear the hearing down at an early age. A test showed that 45 out of 358 students at a prep school in the United States had significant hearing loss. The common denominator was that they all listened to MP3 players.
Listening to an Mp3 player at 60db is o.k. but turning the volume above that is putting your hearing at risk!
 
Students at Harvest Preparatory Academy in Ohio probably considered turning the volume down after a test revealed that 12.5 percent of the entire student body had significant hearing loss.

“This is terrible. This means that there is speech these kids are unable to discern, that they’re probably having a hard time listening in class”, said Lin Hamill, a health care educator of Audibility Hearing Care, who conducted the test.

Youngsters being unable to hear teachers in a classroom is obviously a major problem.Not being able to hear properly at an early age can have longer term consequences,i.e, hearing loss. Additionally, straining to hear can cause fatigue and headaches, making it harder to concentrate and affect study.

These are serious consequences and as the youngsters grow older their hearing will only worsen due to the normal decay of sensory hair cells in the inner ear over time.This can have a detrimental effect on their ability to socially interact.

Sound is Noise!

Hearing professionals and medical advisors have been warning against headphones and earbuds for years, but parents and kids have largely ignored("it won't happen to me") the dangers of a noise induced hearing loss.

“The issue,” pointed out Wayne Chiavacci, a local paediatrician, “is more urgent than ever as manufacturers keep coming out with new things for kids to stick in their ears.”

To ignore this problem will lead to a hearing impairment and frustration at not being able to hear properly.

Examples include hands-free solutions for telephones and the merger of phone and MP3player. Many young ears are loaded with sound most of the time.

A new volume limit setting makes it possible to control the noise-levels on your children’s MP3 players.
 
More than 42 million young people have bought iPods since 2001.
They are cool and trendy,


But the new MP3 players can also blow the listener’s hearing away. A growing number of
young people already suffer from tinnitus and noise induced hearing loss.

The music industry is aware of the problem and now Apple has introduced a volume limit setting for the iPod Nano and video players that makes it possible to encode a maximum noise level to be played on these personal stereos. The encoder is childproof, which makes it possible for parents to help their children avoid hearing impairment.

The industry wants to show that it cares about the customers, but it also wants to prevent further lawsuits brought by hearing impaired people claiming that the excessive noise-levels on the MP3 players damaged their hearing.

Prevent hearing impairment

Even when the volume is set not to exceed 60 percent of the maximum level, listening to the music on personal stereo should be limited to no more than one hour a day.

A team of British researchers removed the headphones from a number of 18-24 year-olds who played their music on MP3 players and other personal stereos. Two in every three of these youngsters told the researchers that they regularly suffer from ringing or hissing noises in their ears. Such noises may be a first indication that the personal stereo is played too loudly, according to the researchers.

The new options for limiting the noise-level on MP3-players will hopefully prevent more young people from suffering hearing loss in the future.
http://www.all-about-the-human-ear.com/

How Does It Feel Not To Hear Properly?

What Hearing Loss Really Means

1. Hearing Facts. Explain that when people cannot hear facts well and often have to ask people to repeat themselves, it is not only frustrating to the person with the hearing loss, but to the other person as well. The other person often wonders if there might be a mental problem, before considering that it might be a hearing problem. This consideration alone can represent a strong motivation to purchase hearing aids.

2. Understanding Meaning and Intention. Understanding the meaning behind a person’s words and understanding their intentions are critically important in many conversations. The person with a hearing loss must understand how this capability deteriorates as hearing gets worse.

3. Feelings and Emotions. Hearing loss makes it much more difficult for the patient to understand the feelings and emotions behind spoken words. This is particularly important to family and friends. The more familiar the relationship, the more important subtle intonation and inflection are. When meaning and emotions are not accurately understood due to hearing loss, misunderstandings lead to frustration and disappointment. This is one of the main reasons why families are often the driving force in visits to the hearing aid office.

4. Alerts and Warnings. Personal and family safety can be jeopardized in an instant by poor hearing. The inability to recognize the nature, seriousness, and direction from which a warning or threat comes is very serious. There is a point at which disregarding this concern becomes irresponsible.This can be overcome with modern technology.

5. Sounds of Nature. Hearing the sound of the wind in the trees, birds chirping, and rain on the roof are important parts of feeling part of a living world. As hearing deteriorates, an inevitable feeling of isolation closes in. Though this is experienced most prevalently in advanced hearing loss, it is one of the most unfortunate consequences of the situation getting worse.

6. Music. For many people with hearing loss, music sounds off key or distorted compared to when it was originally heard. Music plays an important part in some of our favorite memories. Hearing loss often makes sharing these memories stilted and uncomfortable.

http://www.all-about-the-human-ear.com/HearingLossReallyMeans.html

Gunshot blasts pose a serious hazard to hearing

The impulse noise from firearms is as intense as 132-165 Db and thus extremely dangerous to
hearing.
A Polish study including 18 hunters and 8 police trainees, with average ages of 46.2 years and
25.2 years, respectively, found that as many as 72.2 percent of hunters suffered from hearing
loss. Only 11.1% had completely normal hearing, and the remaining 16.7% had normal hearing
only in the ear furthest away from the rifle.
The hunters had never used hearing protection while hunting. The police trainees had always
used hearing protection when practising target shooting and none of them suffered from
measurable hearing loss.
In a comparison of the two groups their hearing was examined before and after a number of
test gunshots. Changes were noted in the hearing of the hunters, whereas no measurable
changes were found in the police trainees after the test shots. The latter group wore hearing
protection throughout the test shooting.
The study indicated that long-term exposure to gunshot blasts is not the only hazard when
using firearms. Even short-term exposure can cause temporary hearing damage and make the
ear more susceptible to noise damage later on.
On the plus side, the study confirmed that hearing protection prevents hearing loss. The use of
hearing protection is therefore highly recommended when using firearms.
Source; International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
http://www.all-about-the-human-ear.com/hearingprotection.html

What is ear training?

Ear training is the process of connecting music theory (notes, intervals, chords, etc.) with the sounds we hear. The more we train our ear to recognize this connection, the more we enjoy playing music, because we learn to understand what we play.

Absolutely all musicians need training for their ears, so EarMaster has been developed to meet the needs of beginning musicians just as well as those of college students and professionals.

The progressive lessons included in the Standard and Jazz Tutors will increase in diffulty as you become better, and the Customized Training mode will let you focus on specific elements of practice.

The most efficient way to train your ear is ear training software.

Earmaster will provide you with:

1.Progressive lessons made by music teachers that help you build up your skills according to your actual level.

2.New questions, drills and tests each time you use the program so you don't end up knowing the answers by heart.

3.A method that is used by some of the world's most prestigious music schools and conservatories (see our non-exhaustive list).

4.An ear trainer with a potentially unlimited life-span.

http://www.earmaster.com/welcome/493-699

What is deafness from noise?

Deafness or hearing impairment resulting from prolonged exposure to loud noise is most frequently associated with industrial workplaces, airports etc. The damaging effects of this kind of noise are also the most studied type of noise-induced hearing loss.


But according to an article in "The Hearing Review", February 1999, by otolaryngolist Ken Einhorn, up to 52 % of classical musicians and up to 30 % of rock or pop musicians suffer from music-induced hearing loss, MIHL. It is hardly surprising that music can cause damage while on the job. The sound pressure of a large concert orchestra may reach 112 dB - of amplified rock bands even up to 130 dB, far more than that accepted in an industrial environment.

For the musicians who are regularly subjected to this kind of noise, the resulting problems can be devastating described as noise induced hearing loss. Symptoms begin with losing the ability to hear high-frequency sounds and tones.

In many cases, this causes problems for musicians and singers who must be able to hear and play high notes equally as well as low ones in order to play or sing along with other orchestra members. Often, a musician who suffers from loss of high frequency hearing will try to compensate by playing louder at high-pitched notes, which leads to an artistically unacceptable performance.

As the problem grows, the musician might react oversensitively: suffer from increased blood pressure, headaches, fatigue or experience some sounds or instruments as being painfully loud, a state that often leads to tinnitus.

Another common symptom is the inability to perceive changes in pitch. This state, known as displacusis, is extremely problematic for singers, who have to be in control of their voice and stay in tune at all times. A hearing-impaired singer is also at risk of damaging his or her own her voice by constantly singing louder in order to monitor his/her own voice.

http://www.all-about-the-human-ear.com

Teach Music Online

"EarMaster School is an interactive and powerful tool for music teachers and schools. It provides music educators with a myriad of features to teach ear training and music theory.
With EarMaster School, you can let your students train freely during and after class sessions. You can use the 651 ready-to-use lessons covering all important aspects of ear training, or make your own customized lessons, drills and tests to support your teaching.
EarMaster School can be used on your school's network with an unlimited number of simultaneous users and a live monitoring interface to follow the progress of your students while they are using the program. Thanks to EarMaster's e-learning features, you will also be able to send lessons and tests to your students in a couple of clicks so that they practice from home and send you their results afterwards.
Your students can interact with the program in many ways: Staff, multiple-choice, On-screen piano, guitar, bass, cello, violin etc., or they can play their answers using a microphone or a MIDI-instrument. The detailed statistics will allow you to browse the students’ progress – individually or by entire classes.
EarMaster matches the needs of modern music teaching. No matter whether you teach rhythmical or classical music, it is here to assist you day after day and make your ear training class a hit!
"http://www.all-about-the-human-ear.com/howdoesyourhearingwork.html

Learn Music Online

"Advanced ear training software for all musicians."
EarMaster is the ideal method to train your aural skills and practice music theory.
Enhance your musical education, prepare for ear training exams, and start becoming a better musican today with EarMaster Pro. Train efficiently with the progressive tutor lesons: 450 lessons from Classical music to Rock and 211 lessons dedicated to Jazz music, or use the customized mode to create your own drills and train according to your precise needs. The lessons included in EarMaster have been created by professors of music theory and the EarMaster software suite is widely used by music schools, conservatories and universities throughout the world.
You can answer the questions using on-screen interfaces: staff, multiple-choice, piano, guitat, bass, violin, cello, etc., or with one of the interactive answering methods available: a microphone, a MIDI instrument or simply the computer keyboard and the mouse.
You will be able to follow your progress with the detailed statistics and get contextual help everywhere in the program! In short: the perfect tool for the modern music student and the professional musician. Training your ear with EarMaster will help you become a better musician!http://www.earmaster.com/welcome/493-699