Tuesday, 5 June 2012

Safety And Your Choice Of Headsets: Be Careful Of Hearing Loss

By Ilechukwu Magnus


What causes hearing loss? According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association , or ASHA, there are several different reasons adults can experience hearing loss if they did not inherit it. Among the identified causes are illnesses, tumours, head injuries, ear-damaging drugs, aging and even loud noise.

Excessive loud noise is the most common type of hearing loss and we are going to discuss it now.

Loss of hearing due to loud noise often occur while wearing headphones and the worst is, it is never noticed until the damage is done. This is because the loss of hearing due to headphone is not painful and generally takes a gradual process.

Protecting yourself from hearing loss due to loud noises begins with choosing the right headsets and learning what you can do to prevent any damage from occurring to your ears while you are wearing them.

What Causes Noise-Induced Hearing Loss With Headsets?

Here are the three major factors associated with noise-induced hearing loss by using headsets.

How loud, or how many decibels, the sound is.

The pitch of the sound through the headsets.

The length of the time your ear-drum is exposed to the sound.

If a sound is less than 75 decibels, it is less likely to cause permanent loss to your hearing. The louder the sound, the faster you can encounter a hearing loss. As an illustration, rock concerts generates about 110 to 140 decibels of sound. To this end, this kind of sound can cause damage to the ear drum after 15 minutes. Noises that are above 90 decibels can cause damage if you are exposed to them for long periods. The intensity of the damage you can sustain from loud noises depends on how long you are exposed to such loud noises.

Can People That Use Wireless Headsets Develop Hearing Loss?

Unfortunately, headset users can be susceptible to hearing loss, especially if they do not understand how to prevent it. It is true that a normal conversation occurs at 60 decibels, but headset users can become adjusted to the sound level of the headset over time.

To this end, even though the volume of the headset is still at the point where it is, the user will experience a drop in volume. This is while they will easily continue to tune up the volume on the headset without realizing that they are increasing the decibels which may lead to a hearing loss.

If you are using microphone headsets on daily basis and are worried about hearing loss, don't be. There are several steps you can take to ensure your ears stay safe.

Buy wireless headsets with noise cancelling features and crystal-call clarity- Place the volume on your headphones at the lowest possible level you can. This can still allow you to hear a clear sound while making sure that your co-workers don't hear a single sound from the headset even if they are sitting very close to you.

You need a headset with noise cancelling feature and crystal-clear call quality. This will help to eliminate background noise and distractions so you can hear everything the individual on the other end of the line is saying without having to turn up the volume.

As much as you can, reduce ambient noises as much as possible in your environment. This can be possible when you remove noisy machines like printers and copiers from your work office.

Take a break every 30 minutes or so. Leaving the headset on your ear for a long period of time will make it more difficult for you to hear callers clearly. Your ear will have a chance to rest when you take to a quiet location every half an hour or so.

Ensure that you go for ear checks every once in a while. Your doctor will be able to identify any sign of hearing loss early enough and help you to prevent further damages.


With the right headsets and these tips, there is no need to get a jumpy heart whenever the thought of hearing loss comes to your mind. Make sure you start taking these steps as soon as possible for the best results.




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