Our dependence on Bluetooth has been flagged as a risk to health. Health experts have been constantly warning against the use of Bluetooth earphones in loud volume. A recent incident has shed light on the damaging effect of Bluetooth earphones.
An incident has been shared on a public forum, where the user has mentioned that his girlfriend lost her hearing ability after the Bluetooth earphones exploded inside her ear.The user mentioned that the earphones were a gift for his girlfriend. The earphones were 36% charged when it was opened, the user has mentioned. However, the earphones exploded inside her ear and it caused her permanent hearing loss. The complaint was made on the Samsung forum and the earphones in question are Galaxy Buds FE.
While the gravity of the incident is too concerning, this is not the first time such an incident has occurred.
How to use earphones safely?
Earphones have also become a necessity today, either for music or for listening to podcasts or while receiving calls. However, misuse will result in permanent damage to the ears. By following some basic rules, one can easily enjoy earphones without causing damage to the ears.
The first principle is maintaining a reasonable volume. The volume level should be kept at or below 60% maximum on your device according to the health experts. Exposure to more than 85 decibels for long periods will lead to permanent damage to the hair cells in your inner ear, thus bringing about noise-induced hearing loss. A simple test of whether the volume is too high is through retracting the earphones. And if the guy sitting next to you can already hear the music through your earphones, then you already know it’s too loud.
Another crucial element is the time spent listening. Even with an acceptable volume, prolonged exposure can injure your ears. The ’60/60 rule’ is a good starting point: listen at 60% of the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time. Make sure you have breaks in between to give your ears time to recover from overexposure to continuing sound.
Noise-canceling headphones can be even more responsible with your hearing since they reduce the volume in noisy environments. When the background noise is reduced, you will listen to your audio at a low volume, preventing possible damage to your hearing. Without noise cancellation, individuals are accustomed to turning up the volume to drown out sounds due to ambient noise, which can be dangerous over time. There is a great investment that can protect your ears from any problem by purchasing a good quality of noise-canceling headphones.
The kind of headphones you use may make all the difference as well. In-ear headphones, sitting inside the ear canal, may expose you to sound in a way that over-the-ear headphones do not. Over-the-ear is always a more even dispersal of sound and is often less damaging. This does not mean you need to worry about in-ear headphones; just use them at safe volumes and for safe durations. For in-ear headphones, though, make sure you get models with silicone or foam tips which fit closely. In this way, it can cut out most of the ambient noise so that you may only need to increase the volume a little.
Cleaning your earphones regularly is important to hygiene and ear health. Earphones shelter all kinds of dirt, bacteria, and earwax which can cause infections in the ears. Clean your earphone using a clean dry cloth or a soft brush and do not share. A dirty earphone may also reduce the quality of the sound, tempting you to raise the volume, which again harms your hearing damage.
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You may find yourself increasing the volume when you’re on the bus or train, at the gym, or when walking on a busy street. Since loud noise tends to mask the volume you are producing, you likely end up going way beyond safe limits of volume without knowing it. Avoid earphones as much as possible from noisy places or get models that incorporate noise-canceling technology whereby you will be able to minimize the background noise without raising the volume.