DeepSummary
In this episode, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates the impact of prolonged headphone and earbud use on our hearing. She interviews Rick Neitzel, a professor at the University of Michigan who is conducting a groundbreaking study in partnership with Apple to understand how people's daily listening habits are affecting their hearing over time. The study aims to link data on volume levels, listening duration, and environmental noise with changes in participants' hearing through hearing tests conducted via their phones.
Neitzel shares some preliminary findings, revealing that a significant portion of participants are exposed to excessive noise levels both from their environment and personal listening devices. He offers advice on safe listening practices, such as setting volume limits, taking breaks, and using noise-canceling features to reduce the need for higher volumes. Neitzel also explains how to perform a simple hearing test at home to detect temporary hearing loss.
The episode also explores the future of "consumer hearables," with companies like Apple developing advanced earbuds with features like speech detection, brain wave monitoring, and AI assistants. While these innovations aim to enhance the listening experience, there are concerns about the potential impact of increased earbud usage on our hearing and overall well-being.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Prolonged exposure to loud sounds, whether from environmental noise or personal listening devices, can lead to permanent, irreversible hearing loss.
- Key factors in determining safe listening levels include volume, duration, and frequency of exposure.
- Setting volume limits, taking breaks, and using noise-canceling features can help reduce the risk of hearing damage from headphone and earbud use.
- Performing a simple hearing test at home can help detect temporary hearing loss, a warning sign of potential permanent damage.
- Tech companies are developing advanced "consumer hearables" with features like speech detection and brain wave monitoring, which may further increase earbud usage and associated risks.
- Excessive noise exposure can also contribute to stress, anxiety, and other health issues beyond hearing loss.
- Authoritative organizations recommend keeping average noise exposure below 70 decibels to eliminate the risk of noise-induced hearing loss.
- Awareness and preventative measures are crucial to protect hearing health in an increasingly noise-filled world.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “I do kind of have an addiction, really, to just listening to something being bombarded with noise.“ by Rick Neitzel
- “Each one of those instances can add up to a permanent, irreversible hearing loss. And as most people with noise induced hearing loss will attest, you don't really notice that hearing loss until it's so far gone that it's impacting the quality of your life, your communication.“ by Rick Neitzel
- “So the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA and the World Health Organization, the WHO, both agree that if we can keep everybody's exposure, on average, below 70 decibels, which is a little bit louder than you'd be talking to someone, or that I would be talking to you if we were sitting at the same table 3ft apart. So if we can keep people's on average exposure below that level, we essentially eliminate any risk of hearing loss from noise.“ by Rick Neitzel
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Episode Information
TED Radio Hour
NPR
5/28/24
Manoush speaks with exposure scientist Rick Neitzel, who has partnered with Apple on a first-of-its-kind study to find how our daily listening patterns are affecting our hearing. Neitzel offers advice on safe listening habits that can help protect our ears in the long term.
Later, Manoush takes us into the future of "consumer hearables" and how tech companies want us to never — ever— take our earbuds out.
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