20 Sep Does Earphones Damage Brain? | 6 DANGEROUS Health Side Effects
Earphones, though beneficial when you wanna escape reality, are often an inviting string to some health concerns.
The first damage that might come to your mind is hearing loss, but we have something bigger in the picture.
Today, we not just talk about how does earphones damage ears but are also gonna disclose some lesser-known effects of the new gen Z favorite.
And the most important effect is its side effect on the brain.
Let’s catch up on some facts before you plug in your earphones for another binge-watch session.
Side Effects of Earphones on Brain
When we say side effects of earphones on the brain, it’s not just always about the direct effects; sometimes it can just be a mere link or a huge indirect connection.
But to understand this sort of a link here, it’s important to first talk about how an earphone works.
Generally, the sound mechanism of your ears works in a way that it converges the surrounding sounds through your canal to finally bring them to the eardrum.
On the other hand, earphones directly bombard your eardrum with the vibrations of sounds, weakening them.
Thus, you relatively find the voice through earphones louder.
While this could be a reason for ear damage, what about the side effects of earphones on the brain?
Let’s find out what this mechanism has to do with your brain.
How Does Earphones Affect Your Brain?
According to reports, any noise that’s above the level of 110 decibels can affect the nerve impulses transmitted between the ear and brain.
Such a high noise perforates the myelin sheath covering the nerve cells and can disrupt the signals.
This mainly results in loss of hearing.
Excessive use of earphones can lead to problems like:
- Stress and anxiety.
- Learning disabilities as it is known that high noise levels in classrooms affect the grasping ability of students.
- Lack of focus due to the hampered nervous system because of excessive usage of earphones.
Another significant effect of earphones on the brain may come from the growing concern around the electromagnetic waves it radiates. However, the amount of radiation from bluetooth headsets, earphones, or headphones is much less to have any significant effect on your brain.
So, till now no strong scientific evidence has come to our notice that strongly supports the above facts, and more research is needed.
But yes there’s evidence of how earphones can impact your health in other ways.
6 Health Effects of Earphones and Headphones
Some studies find headphones and earphones responsible for several health hazards.
Evidence:
A study was conducted among students living in Chandigarh, India to assess the impacts of earphones on health.
It was a cross-sectional study conducted by over 100 students and was based on a questionnaire prepared for collecting data.
According to the results, it was found that 43% of students took breaks while using earphones while 15% of them had prolonged usage.
This 15% of students also reported having problems like:
- Hearing difficulty
- Numbness
- Ear infection
- Tinnitus
- Ear discharge
Based on the study and some other evidence, here is what doctors believe earphones to be responsible for.
#1. Noise Induced Hearing Loss
Earphones bombard your eardrum with loud noises. When these waves cause vibrations, they are transmitted to the inner ear through small bones.
On reaching the inner ear, it vibrates the small hairs present in the cochlea.
The louder the noise, the stronger are these vibrations. And prolonged exposure to earphones leads to loss of the sensitivity of hair leading to hearing loss.
#2. Tinnitus
Tinnitus is a ringing, buzzing, or roaring sound that people hear without any external stimuli.
People who use headphones for prolonged periods often show signs of tinnitus because of the impaired hairs of the cochlea due to loud noise.
When the hairs lose sensitivity, nerve signals are interrupted causing the brain to compensate for the missing input, causing a ringing sound.
RELATED: Causes of Tinnitus in One Ear Only
#3. Hyperacusis
Due to the damage to the nerves caused by loud noise, the brain’s auditory system tries to compensate for the signal.
This creates any sound appear louder to you than it already is.
Common symptoms of the condition include pain in the ears, fullness of the ears, or a feeling of fluttering in the ear.
#4. Ear Infections
Using earphones regularly can cause a high risk of the growth of bacteria. This is because of the condition they create inside the ear.
Earphones raise the temperature and humidity inside the ear canal which can lead to abrasion inside the canal.
This opens the pathway for organisms to enter the broken skin and cause the growth of organisms.
As they can also block the air passage, it offers a perfect environment for stable growth of bacteria.
#5. Wax Buildup
The auditory canal produces wax for many functions like protection from microorganisms, preventing foreign particles from entering the inner ear, and much more.
This wax tends to move toward the external environment from the auditory canal, carrying away all the particles trapped.
But when you plug in earphones, the wax is not able to move out and starts building up.
Since earphones can also push the wax deeper into the canal, it raises the risk of wax buildup which pave way for many ear problems.
#6. Vertigo
Loud noises create an increase in the pressure within your canal that leads to a feeling of dizziness.
Long-term exposure to loud noises leads to vertigo because of this unbalanced feeling.
Other than these major health impacts, headphones or earphones are also known to cause severe headaches.
However many people don’t understand the science behind how earphones can lead to such unbearable headaches.
Can Excessive Use of Earphones Cause Headaches?
Excessive usage of headphones/earphones is responsible for causing severe headaches.
Long hours of usage exert pressure on your ears and your head, causing a headache. Also, it mainly happens when you don’t wear your headphones/earphones properly.
Common mistakes that people make with earphones resulting in headaches are:
1. Earphones That Don’t Suit Your Ear: The size and anatomy of the ear vary from person to person, but manufacturers make it based on average size.
Hence, when you wear earphones that doesn’t suit your ears, you might experience pain in your head.
Sometimes, it could also be because of choosing the wrong ear cups.
2. Ear Cup Padding: Ear cups have padding to keep a distance between your ear and the sound mechanism used in the earphones.
But when an earphone is designed poorly with less or faulty padding, it might exert pressure on the ears.
This could be painful and cause excessive headaches after long usage.
3. High Volume: Loud noises cause headaches because of their electronegative waves that create an indirect impact on the brain.
It could also be an ear pain that radiates to your head because of loud noises.
Fortunately, most of these health hazards of earphones are because by inappropriate usage of headphones and earphones.
You can still safely use the earphone without them causing damage to your health with the following tips.
How to Use Earphones without Damaging Ears?
By following the tips below you can still enjoy your favorite me time without causing serious damage to your ears:
#1. Balancing the Volume According to Duration
The two most important factors for preventing your ears from damage are:
- Volume of the sound
- Duration of the exposure
The longer you are planning to stay hooked on the earbuds, headphones, or earphones, the lower the volume should be.
For example, if you are exposing your ears to the sound for 90 minutes, you can keep the volume at 80%. But more than 90 minutes need lesser volume.
#2. Choosing the Device
There are many types of earphones available these days which have varying effects on your ears:
- Over-the-ear headphones – have better sound qualities and can help you control sound exposure.
- Earbuds – have less capability of noise canceling and hence people tend to keep them at high volume. Thus, they cause more damage.
- Isolating earbuds – they are manufactured with rubber tips to seal your canal but might be dangerous for cyclists and runners.
Thus, choose your device based on comfort and audio control options.
#3. Keep Your Earphones Clean
Ears produce waxy oils that might seep into the headphones. On gradual accumulation, they start blocking the sound, which makes you increase the volume up, hence damaging your ears.
Also, they can pave way for many infections, and hence keeping them clean is going to be beneficial for your ears.
#4. Avoid Sharing Your Earphones
People often don’t understand the significance of not sharing headphones and earphones.
But earphones are the major source of ear infections among people. It can trap in your ear wax and cause the spread of infection from one person to other.
#5. Maintain Enough Distance between Your Ears and Earphones
Since earphones in closer proximity to the ear can cause serious headaches and other painful concerns, it is always best to look for good-quality ear cup padding when shopping.
Conclusion
Earphones are a must these days for anyone to escape the hustle of life. But when it comes to health, earphones are not as friendly as you expect them to be.
In the century of working from home, the number of ear troubles has seen a rise because of the growing usage of earphones.
Until now they were only expected to hurt your ear, but recent reports suggest their effects on the brain too.
Although we are still researching the significant effects of earphones on the brain, experts suggest earphones are already at fault.
So apart from the major hearing problems you might face because of earphones, there can be some additional concerns too.
Take steps to either reduce the usage of earphones or avoid using them for long durations at once.
How many hours do you use your earphones? Are there any steps you take to reduce the damaging effects on your ears?
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