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THROW
AWAY
YOUR
EARBUDS

NOW!
Doctors are sounding the alarm: Listening
to music with earbuds can seriouslyand
permanentlydamage our hearing.
By Jennifer Dignan, with Frances Hannan

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Scholastic Scope MAY 2014

Informational Text

hat?
Matthew Brady, 19, uses that word a lot. When hes
at a restaurant, a football game, a partyanywhere
with background noisehe finds it hard to make out
what people are saying. Even in a quieter setting, he
sometimes misses the first few words someone says.

What? What? What?

Matthew wasnt born with hearing problems. Until he was 16, Matthewas

far as he was aware, at leastcould hear just fine. Then came the day before
his sophomore year of high school, when everything went silent.
That summer, Matthew ran on a treadmill every day. And every time he ran,
he listened to music on his iPod, full blast. One day, says Matthew, when I
stepped off the treadmill, I could not hear a thing.
Some of Matthews hearing returned within a couple of hours, but things
were not the same. At school in the fall, he found it difficult to hear his friends in the
cafeteria. He had frequent headaches and ear pain. Finally, a doctor diagnosed Matthew with noiseinduced hearing loss. The cause? Listening to his iPod at too high a volume.

A Lot of Noise
Sadly, stories like Matthews are becoming more common. A 2010 study at Brigham and Womens
Hospital in Boston found that one in five teens suffers from some sort of hearing impairmentan
increase of 33 percent since 1994. Most of that impairment was slight, but even a little trouble
hearing can be a profound loss.
What if you couldnt hear your friends whispering in the dark at a sleepover? What if you
couldnt hear leaves rustling in the breeze, or raindrops hitting the sidewalk?
The causes of hearing impairment vary. Some impairment is genetic, meaning youre born with
it, and some results from illness. But by far, the most common cause of hearing problems is noise.
And today, we are exposed to a lot of noise.
If you think through your day, youll realize that almost every moment is filled with sound,
from the buzzing of your alarm clock to the cacophony of the cafeteria to the beeps and bloops
of your video games. Most of this sound is harmless. But some is not. And one major source
of dangerous noise may be stashed in your pocket or backpack right now: a personal media
playersuch as an iPod or phonecombined with a pair of earbuds.
For sound to damage hearing, two things must happen: The sound must be loud, and there
must be a certain amount of exposure time. The louder the sound, the less time it takes to do

istockphoto.com

damage. On the flip side, the longer the sound lasts, the less volume is needed to do harm.
Consider how your ears work: Your outer ear funnels sound into your eardrum,
causing it to vibrate. Tiny sensory cells transmit the vibrations to your brain. Over
time, loud noise can cause the cells to disintegrate. These cells do not heal, and they
do not grow back.

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MAY 2014
11, 2010

Sound is measured in units called decibels;

As for Matthew Brady, who is now a sophomore at

anything above 85 decibels puts your ears at risk.

Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island, he

Most MP3 players, like iPods, can hit 115 decibels.

has switched from earbuds to over-the-ear headphones

If youre listening with earbuds (versus over-the-ear

and is careful to limit his exposure to loud sounds in

headphones), its even more likely that youre doing

general. He has learned to cope with his hearing loss by

harm; earbuds have been found to increase volume by

doing things like sitting in the front row during class to

5.5 decibels.

ensure he can hear his professors. He says that turning

According to a 2008 European study, headphone

the volume down or wearing earplugs may seem

users who listen to music at high volumes for more than

ridiculous, but considering what I have been through . . .

an hour a day risk permanent hearing loss after five

the alternative is worse.

years. Think about how old youll be in five years. Not

exactly a senior citizen.
Of course, the hearing loss you experience now
or even five years from now may be slight. But once

HOW LOUD IS TOO LOUD?

Hearing damage starts at 85 decibels.
See how everyday noises rank.*

hearing is gone, its not coming back. Hearing loss is

by your 30s or 40s.

130

Decibel Damage

120

MP3 players are not the only thing that can damage

110

your ears. Have you ever walked out of a concert

with your ears ringing? That ringing is a clear sign of
between 110 and 140and sporting events can be just

80

Seahawks and the New Orleans Saints last December,

the noise level reached 137.6 decibels. Band practice,

70

snowmobiles, sirensall of these can damage your

hearing too. Even your TV, if its on loud enough and

in noise-canceling headphones: If youre not trying to

drown out ambient sound, you wont be as tempted
to crank up the volume. You can also use earplugs at
concerts, sports games, and in other loud environments.

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Scholastic Scope MAY 2014

Decibels

Fortunately, you can do a lot to protect your ears.

to set a volume limit.) Another good idea is to invest

Personal media player at

70% of maximum volume

Risk of
damage
starts
here

Normal conversation

60

long enough, can lead to hearing loss.

keep the volume at 70 percent or less. (iPods allow you

Lawn mower

90

as loud. During the playoff game between the Seattle

answer is yes, the music is dangerously loud. Always

Personal media player

at maximum volume

100

damage. Rock concerts generally have decibel levels

to you whether he or she can hear your music. If the

Rock concert

50
40
30
20

Watch ticking

*Decibel levels are approximate.

Sources: American Speech Language Hearing Association (normal
conversation); American Tinnitus Association (watch ticking); National
Institutes of Health (all others)

istockphoto.com (all photos)

14 could put you on the path to needing a hearing aid

When using earbuds or headphones, ask a friend next

Jet engine at takeoff

140

Courtesy of the Denney family

permanent. Its also cumulativeso a slight loss at age

ESSAY

I Cant Hear You

Life after hearing loss
By Katherine Bouton

earing is something
we take for
granted. We
hear the way we
breatheeffortlesslyuntil we
cant.
I began losing my hearing
when I was 30 years old. The
cause was never diagnosed.
As time went by, my hearing
got progressively worse, and
by age 60, I was profoundly
deaf in one ear and had severe
hearing loss in the other.
When I was young, I ignored
what was happening. For
many years, I refused to get
a hearing aid, which I now
know compromised my ability
to regain hearing later with a
cochlear implant. (A cochlear
implant is a miraculous device
that restores hearing by
sending signals directly to the
brain, bypassing the damaged
inner ear.) Because I never
wore a hearing aid, my brain
had not processed sound from
that ear for decades. My brain
had essentially forgotten how
to hear in that ear.
So even after I got the
implant, I still heard poorly.

Losing my hearing has had

a profound impact on my life,
affecting my work, my friendships,
and my enjoyment of music and
movies. If my husband calls to
me from another room, I cant
understand what hes saying. If he
sneezesa loud, manly sneezeI
think hes shouting at someone.
If theres background noise, I
often cant hear even if Im just
two or three feet from the person
speaking.
That means I cant hear
conversations in a restaurant. I
cant hear if an air conditioner
is humming or if soft music is
playing.
I also cant hear unless I can
see the speakers face. People with
hearing loss become sensitive to
the facial expressions and body
language of those around them.
Most of us can read lips to some
extent. If I cant see a speakers
lips, all I hear is the sound of
the voice, not the words. I dread
talking to someone with a beard.
I cant understand small children
or people with an accent. Overall I
probably understand about half of
what is said to me.
I dont go to the movies,

because I cant follow

the dialogue. I cant hear
announcements in malls or
stores or airports. I cant
hear my alarm clock. I cant
hear someone knocking on my
front door or driving up the
driveway.
For years, I tried to deny
what was happening, as those
with hearing loss often do.
They fake the ability to hear,
nodding and laughing along
at what they hope are the
appropriate moments. But
faking it takes a lot of effort,
and so they just stay home. I
found myself avoiding social
situations so I wouldnt have
to work so hard to hear,
and so I wouldnt embarrass
myself when I misunderstood
what someone had said.
But heres the good thing.
When I started acknowledging
my hearing loss, people
responded. When I asked them
to, they repeated things
cheerfully. They looked at
me when they talked. They
made a point of making sure I
heard in a group. My friends
and family had been baffled
about how to behave around
me. I was cranky, irritated. I
snapped at them. They knew
I couldnt hear, but I wouldnt
talk about it, so they didnt
know how to accommodate it.
Now they do, and I feel as if
I have my life back.

Katherine Bouton is the author of Shouting

Wont Help: Why IAnd 50 Million Other
AmericansCant Hear You.

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writing contest
Why is it important to protect your hearing when youre young? What steps can you take to
prevent hearing loss? Respond in two to three paragraphs. Use evidence from both texts.
Send your response to EARS CONTEST. Five winners will get Hurt Go Happy by Ginny Rorby.

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