Safety of Using EarPods for Longer Periods of Time: Part 2

Dr. Nagler,

Before I start I want to again thank you for your time and contributions to our community and to my health specifically. I'm currently posted overseas and don't have access to qualified medical professionals to answer basic question about ear health and having you here is a remarkable resource. A sincere thanks to you.

A little background on my health specifics in case it is relevant and then on to my question. It appears that I had a viral event last April that precipitated SSHL at high frequencies and severe Tinnitus. Happily though it took almost 9 months it appears that my hearing has largely recovered, it certainly isn't bothering me anymore. Oddly I think the healing didn't happen until recently and I hold out hope that more healing is possible but that's not here nor there. It now appears that I have only mild hearing loss above 4k something on the scale of 30-35 dB improved from 55 dB loss measured in April and May. My tinnitus hasn't gotten better, but I have at least partially habituated to it.

My question is about the safety of using earphones. Under your advise from a previous question I got a pair of earphones that work well for me, the Apple AirPods Pros with noise cancelling. It also allows accurate measuring of volume. I have found that with the noise canceling I listen comfortably to the EarPods at a volume of around 55 dB or lower. If I keep it in this volume range, and don't experience any negative reaction from my tinnitus, is there any limit to how much I can use my earbuds at this volume level? Would it be safe for me to use them all day long in the office at that volume?

Again thank a million Doc

 

Hello @AfroSnowman -

To the best of my knowledge, there are two mechanisms for noise-induced auditory damage from external sounds introduced through the ear canals.

One is the percussive force of a sudden very loud blast that, in addition to damaging the hair cells in your inner ear, can rupture your tympanic membrane (eardrum) that separates your outer ear from your middle ear and can disrupt the ossicles in your middle ear. This is the sort of injury that can occur if you are in the military in close proximity to an explosion.

The other is due to the effect of sound waves over time that can damage hair cells in the inner ear.

You say that you are using noise-cancelling earphones. The way that noise cancelling earphones work is that they produce a sound wave 180° out of phase with the incoming sound wave - so that the two sound waves will cancel ear other out and ideally result in little or no potential hair cell damage unless the external noise is of such an intensity that it exceeds the limits of the technology. Nothing you have written suggests that you are exposed to that sort of sound.

So we are left with the sound that you are purposely listening to through your earphones. And you say that you keep the volume of that sound at 55dB or lower. Well fortunately for us the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has studied noise-induced auditory damage. And what they found is that limiting noise exposure in the workplace to 90dB for 8 hours a day every workday will protect 90% of ears from damage. Now admittedly some folks feel that the OSHA standard is somewhat liberal - but I feel comfortable in telling you that by keeping things at 55dB or less you are not posing any appreciable risk to your auditory system, assuming that the noise cancellation technology is working properly. [As a very rough approximation 55dB is around an eighth as loud as 90dB.]

Hope this helps.

Stephen M. Nagler, M.D.