Risky Listening Habits Threaten Hearing in Younger Generations
Risky Listening Habits Threaten Hearing in Younger Generations
This
holiday season, Sertoma Foundation of Florida is sharing important
information with the Tampa Bay area that concerns long-term hearing and
health challenges that can create a lifetime of problems for younger
people.
According to Valerie Laberta, a freelance medical writer, today’s modern
society is posing a serious threat to the younger generations. Too much
use of earbuds, exposure to loud volumes and concerts, and excessively
loud music in clubs can cause long-term injury to ears and hearing, and
pose serious threats to ones health.
In her article “Address Youth Risky Listening Habits to Prevent a ‘Deaf
Generation,” Ms. Laberta noted that the World Health Organization (WHO)
has already raised a red flag, stating that “some 1.1 billion teenagers
and young adults are at risk of hearing loss due to the unsafe use of
personal audio devices, including smartphones and exposure to damaging
levels of sound. Quantifying the global breadth of hearing loss, WHO
reported that 360 million people have moderate to profound hearing loss,
but estimates that half
of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable.”
It has already been found that the prevalence of tinnitus is now higher
in teens than in the general population at more than 54 percent, much
higher than experts expected, which was about 30-40 percent until
extensive testing showed a much higher number of teens effected.
While headphones are better to use than earbuds, the concern is with the
number of hours listening to music at unsafe volumes. Labera’s
article, which appeared in the October 2016 issue of the Hearing Journal
,
scientifically addresses the escalating danger of risky listening
habits to younger generations and provides background information that
may be helpful to parents concerned about the long-term effects on their
teens and younger children’s hearing.
Hearing Loss is the most common birth defect nationally. Early
detection and intervention is vital for an infant to have the
opportunity to access speech and other sounds for learning and brain
development. Sertoma Speech and Hearing Foundation assists hard of
hearing babies, children, and adults to avoid a life of isolation and
hear the world around them so they can succeed personally, academically,
and socially.
The mission of the Sertoma Speech &
Hearing Foundation of Florida is to enhance individual potential and
quality of life through better hearing.
Link to article:
http://journals.lww.com/thehearingjournal/Fulltext/2016/10000/Address_Youth_Risky_Listening_Habits_to_Prevent_a.1.aspx








