How Loud Is Too Loud For Headphones | A Quick Guide 2022

With the constant evolution of technology and increasingly impressive gadgets available in the market today, there is nothing new about seeing every other person wearing headphones wherever you go. Where headphones provide us with easy access to various apps and functions, from receiving calls to listening to music and podcasts, the fact that their misuse can cause severe damage to our ears cannot be denied. 

So how do you know how loud is too loud for headphones? And how can you prevent your ears from getting damaged? To get all answers to these questions scroll through this easy guide that will help you know what you’re doing wrong and how to fix your listening habits.

How Loud Is Too Loud For Headphones?

According to scientists, 85 dB is the threshold of danger. When listening to music via headphones, we subconsciously turn up the volume in order to listen better. While doing so, what we must keep in mind is that headphones play the music in our ears, transmitting high Decibels directly toward our eardrum. This action causes extreme vibration in our inner ear. The inner ear consists of hair cells that are in an erect position.  After a certain time, the hairs in the inner ear lose their sensitivity. This causes them to bend, which in turn causes hearing loss.

It is advised that you keep your music below 85 dB in order to keep your hearing safe.

Risks of Listening To Loud Music:

Since our ears are extremely sensitive, listening to high decibels can cause various long-term problems. 

Listening to blaring music can cause the following diseases:

• Tinnitus
• NIHL
• Hearing Loss
• Pain in the ear
• Brain Damage

How to Know If Your Headphones are Too Loud?

There are various methods that enable you to check if your volume is way too loud for your ears. Below we have listed some of those methods that you can conveniently use to know how much damage your ears have taken up till now.

1. Do a Ringing Test:

This test requires a pair of earbuds and a quiet room. Try not to use your headphones 2 or 3 days prior to doing this test.

Sit in a quiet room with your earbuds in and try to relax as much as you can. You should be able to hear a slight ringing sound.  

The next day, use your headphones on the same volume that you usually prefer. Conduct this test one more time. If the ringing sounds louder than before, then this is a huge red flag meaning you should turn your music down a notch or two.

2. Keep Track Of Your Volume Controls:

Have you ever cranked up the volume of your headphones just because your favorite music was playing? If you did, then you’re not alone. Most people have this habit of increasing the volume when their favorite song is playing. But this is big a no-no. 

If you don’t want to suffer hearing loss at a relatively young age, take this suggestion to heart and try not to increase the music above 60%. You should be ok as long as your music stays below the halfway mark.

3. Use a Sound Meter:

Another way you can detect the volume of your headphones is by using a Sound Meter. A sound meter or noise dosimeter uses a microphone to detect the amplitude. 

Although it’s not exactly accurate, it still gives a good gauge and helps you analyze the volume and decibels you are listening to. 

4. Ask For Assistance:

A simple and effective way to know exactly how bad your listening habits are is to ask a friend for assistance. Put your headphones on with the music blaring at the usual level that you like. If your friend is able to hear the music when sitting beside you, you should probably consider lowering the volume for the sake of your ears.

It’s essential to note that sound bleeding is normal when using open-back headphones. 

Why do we listen to loud music?

People usually tend to increase the volume when trying to drain out the background noises from various conversations going around them. Maybe you are one of those people. What most of these people don’t realize is that increasing this volume also increases the risk of hearing loss and NIHL. 

To continue listening to music on a safe volume level we suggest that you use Noise Cancelling headphones that are highly effective in reducing ambient noises so that you can hear your music crystal clear and on a safe level as well. 

Another reason why people listen to loud music is that they can’t hear a few instruments clearly. For example, you can hear the guitar, piano and drums perfectly through the earcups of your headphones but you can’t hear the bass clearly. You raise the volume just because you want to hear the bass.

To get this resolved, you can use an equalizer. An equalizer allows you to adjust the frequencies manually and help you pinpoint the instruments that you wish to push to the forefront

Conclusion:

Our sense of hearing is a blessing that most individuals don’t have. But with rapid advancements in technology, we have started to take this gift for granted. Protecting one’s hearing is essential for our auditory perception. For that matter, It is better not to rely upon headphones to maintain a safe level of sound since most of them are set for volumes ranging between 105 dB to 110 DB.

The higher the volume is the more damage your ears take in less exposure time. So it is better for you to keep check of your listening habits including the volume that you listen on as well as the duration of exposure. If you want to keep your positive habits in check, just follow the golden rule of 60%. Don’t crank up your music higher than 60% of the advised volume and you’ll do just fine.

We hope that this article was of help to you.