from Purdue University
Ask any veteran radio broadcaster or disk jockey about their hearing and the answer might be, “huh?” Unfortunately, that’s not a joke. Those of us who wore earphones for many years tend to have high-frequency hearing loss. It didn’t hurt. It just quietly slipped away. Purdue University audiologist Shannon Van Hyfte says the same thing is happening to today’s children and teens who are constantly plugged into personal listening devices. She says audiologists are seeing hearing loss in younger people—in part because of the daily exposure and in part because the volume in their listening devices is too loud. How much is too much? Van Hyfte says a student should be able to hear teachers or parents while listening on headphones or ear buds. Also available are safe-listening headphones that will limit the loudness level.