MP3 Players and Permanent Hearing Loss

We see them everywhere. They're like that adorable leech that you just can't bear to tear off. MP3 players. IPods have made it socially acceptable to be unsociable. Not only that, a speaker that close to your ear for long amounts of time can't be good for your hearing; and well, it isn't. An MP3 player's output ranges from about 30 decibels (dB) to 115 dB (an average rock concert. This is also bordering on a pain threshold). What’s worse than the output, is the amount of time spent listening to volumes that loud. Exposure time and permanent hearing loss is logarithmic, meaning that it is volume x time. Here is what I mean.

85 dB’s, is where permanent hearing damage begins to take form. This could be compared to very busy city traffic, or an alarm clock at 2 feet away. Exposure for 8 hours continually can produce hearing loss. But, at 90 dB’s, hearing loss begins after about 4 hours. What? But it’s only 5 to 10 dB louder? Well, for every 6 dB you turn up the volume, the output is doubled (or halved if turning down). Therefore at 95 dB it’s about 2 hours, etc. Until you get to 115 dB. At this volume, 7 to 7 ½ minutes is all it takes to do permanent hearing damage. Something else to think about is that hearing loss is cumulative, which means that any dB level over 85 that causes damage will continue to cause damage (build on the previous damage).
(I will post the results of the survey I did around campus next week when I get back to a computer that has a newer version Excel)

Anyways, here is my story.

Don't get me wrong, I LOVE listening to music on my IPod. All I'm saying is we need to be cautious of the continuous amount of time spent with buds shoved in our ears.