The 3rd of March is the WHO’s World Hearing Day, and this year’s theme of making educated choices through good care practices aims to reduce the incidence of hearing loss. With over one billion young people at risk of developing permanent hearing damage due to prolonged exposure to loud sounds while listening to music, gaming and other recreational activities, prevention is a high priority. Good hearing care and safe listening practices will allow for the continued enjoyment of all activities.
Hearing care advice should come from medical professionals and reliable information resources such as World Health Organisation webpage on ear care. There is also an app you can download to test your hearing, available for both Android and iOS.
Here, we will focus more on safe listening practices, and how digital devices can aid in promoting these.
Limit Maximum Volume:
One of the easiest preventative options you can do is limit the volume levels on your devices. High volumes can cause noise induced hearing loss which is permanent. Volume limiters help prevent this by capping the maximum volume at a safe level typically around 85 decibels.
Both mobile phones and gaming systems will allow you to set maximum listening levels, to prevent excessive noise exposure.
In iOS devices, such as iPhones and iPads, open the settings app, scroll down, and tap on Sounds and Haptics. From there, select Headphone Safety and toggle on reduce loud sounds. Use the slider to set your desired maximum volume level.
In Android devices, you can use either the inbuilt settings or third-party apps. To use the inbuilt options, open the settings app, tap on Sounds and Vibration, and then select volume. Here you will see sliders for different volume controls such as media, ring tone, notifications, and system. Adjust the sliders to your desired maximum volume level.
Different gaming systems all have ways to limit sound volume. In each, the first step is to open the settings. From there, on the Nintendo Switch, select System. Look for the option “Lower Max Headphone Volume” and turn it on.
On the Xbox, under the Systems menu, go to General and then select Volume and Audio Output. Here you can adjust the headphone volume, chat mixer and mic monitoring settings to control the audio level.
To set the maximum volume level for PlayStation, the process differs slightly if you are using the PS4 or PS5. For the PS4, in the Settings menu, select Devices and then Audio Devices. Choose Volume Control and adjust the sliders to set the maximum volume here. On the PS5, go to the Settings menu, select Sound and then Volume. Again, there are sliders here that will allow you to adjust the volume of the headphones and the controller speakers.
Noise-Cancelling Headphones
Another way to limit maximum volume is to invest in noise limiting headphones, to reduce ambient noise, allowing you to listen at lower volumes without sacrificing sound quality. These will use active noise cancellation to reduce unwanted ambient sounds, by using microphones to pick up external noise and then generate sound waves that they are the exact opposite to cancel out the noise. This results in a quieter listening experience, allowing you to enjoy your audio without being disturbed by background noise or turning the volume up to extreme levels.
Sound Level Monitoring Apps
Sound level monitoring apps can measure the noise levels in your environment and alerts you when the sound exceeds safe levels. This will allow you to take immediate action to protect your hearing. A review of some free decibel metre apps can be found on the Freeappsforme.com website. If you need something more child friendly, check out the Too Noisy app.
Volume adjustable earplugs.
Specialist earplugs, although they do not have electronic component and are not connected to any digital device, are designed for when you a need to reduce the impact of environmental sounds, while still allowing certain sounds, such as speech, through the earplug. Some have adjustable noise reduction, whereby a slider switch lets you choose between various levels of noise reduction. Acoustic filters reduce noise without distorting sound quality allowing you to hear conversations and other important sounds clearly. Examples of volume adjustable earplugs include dBuds and Loop earplugs. This allows for the protection of hearing without compromising the ability to communicate, in environments such as concerts, nightclubs, and industrial settings.
In conclusion, technology can play a crucial role in preventing hearing loss and protecting our auditory health. There are numerous tools available to help us safeguard our hearing in a variety of environments. By staying informed and proactive about our hearing health, we can enjoy the sounds of life without putting our ears at risk.