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Are you one of the BILLION young people at risk of losing your hearing because of loud music?

We’re starting to see the effects of a couple of generations of people walking around listening to loud music on headphones and earbuds. Pumping high-volume audio directly into your ear canals will eventually cause hearing loss.

According to a study by the BMJ Global Health Journal (“Prevalence and Global Estimates of Unsafe Listening Practices in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis”), anywhere from 670 million to 1.35 billion teens and young adults are at risk of losing at least part of their hearing. And the overwhelming cause is too much loud music. Headphones and earbuds are the biggest problems, but loud music at concerts and clubs aren’t helping matters, either.

The study, which looked at 19,000 people aged between 12 and 24, found that roughly 24% were listening to music at hazardous sound levels on their personal devices. About 48% were exposed to “dangerous” sound pressure levels at concerts and clubs. Pro-rating this to the approximately 2.8 billion people in that demo, researchers came up with that top-end figure of 1.35 billion.

At the risk of sounding like Grandpa Simpson, turn it down.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

Alan Cross has 38005 posts and counting. See all posts by Alan Cross

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