Monday, January 2, 2017

NYT on Headphones: "...half of 30 sets of children’s headphones tested did not restrict volume to the promised limit..."

...But a new analysis by The Wirecutter, a product recommendations website owned by The New York Times Company, has found that half of 30 sets of children’s headphones tested did not restrict volume to the promised limit. The worst headphones produced sound so loud that it could be hazardous to ears in minutes.
“These are terribly important findings,” said Cory Portnuff, a pediatric audiologist at the University of Colorado Hospital who was not involved in the analysis. “Manufacturers are making claims that aren’t accurate.”
The new analysis should be a wake-up call to parents who thought volume-limiting technology offered adequate protection, said Dr. Blake Papsin, the chief otolaryngologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto...

...Safe listening is a function of both volume and duration: The louder a sound, the less time you should listen to it.
It’s not a linear relationship. Eighty decibels is twice as loud as 70 decibels, and 90 decibels is four times louder....

...Audiologists offered some tips for listening: First, keep the volume at 60 percent. Second, encourage your child to take breaks every hour to allow the hair cells in the inner ear to rest. Nonstop listening can eventually damage them...
 http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/health/headphones-hearing-loss-kids.html?_r=1

4 comments:

  1. See No Evil, Hear No Evil.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Actually, 80 dB is ten times louder than 70 dB, just as 90 dB is ten times louder than 80 dB. Every 3 dB logarithmically corresponds with a doubling of volume.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Best to hook the kids up to headset and sit them in front of the computer at school all day. This way we can damage their eyes and ears.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And that way there will be a demand for Virtual Reality gadgets.

      Delete

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