When Musical Sounds Become Dangerous

It’s a steamy, summer afternoon and you’re about to go cruising on a long-awaited road trip with your favorite people. The illuminating rays of sunshine filter onto your face through the sunroof. Then you remember that you can’t have an awesome road trip without music. A little Taylor Swift, “1989” will do. “Is that loud enough?” you ask yourself. Your hand searches for the volume knob and elevates the music to its highest level. This sounds like the ideal day right? You’d never suspect that you were endangering your health by just having a little fun.

According to CNN, billions of youth have been besieging their hearing for years unknowingly. Almost 50% of people are being exposed to unsafe sound levels on a daily basis that could lead to hearing loss in the future. There are very high noise levels at most events that youth frequent such as bars, concerts, and sporting events. This does not even interpolate the number of times that your headphones’ volume exceeds the limit of your own consumption and can be heard by others sitting close to you. Even the scenario we described in the opening paragraph can harm your sense of hearing.

Studies have found have that being victim to noise contingencies of 100 dB for over 15 minutes can be detrimental. This is astonishing because these are the noise levels at most extracurricular settings. Many are not aware, but some celebrities have hearing loss handicaps due to the excessive levels of noise they experience. Two examples are Chris Martin of Coldplay and Plan B, a rapper.

There are ways that you can prevent this serious health risks by turning down volumes or simply using earbuds to protect your hearing at obstreperous venues. Your hearing is one of your most important senses. It’s just not worth jeopardizing. 

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