Is technology making us deaf?

Reports and studies keep pouring in, and it’s bad news for those of us who love our everyday technology. Doctors and audiologists around the world are reporting increasing numbers of teens with hearing loss, as well as a rise in people as young as twelve developing hearing problems. A new study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association shows that hearing loss has risen by almost a third in young people between the ages of twelve and nineteen since the 1980’s and 1990’s.


Experts have for a number of years been keeping their eyes (and ears) on gadgets like mp3 players and their possible links to this rise in hearing loss, and are cautioning people before they rush out to buy the latest music players and electronic gadgets for the holiday season.



But it’s not just our trusty headphones that are causing us damage. Life is a lot noisier than it used to be. Work, loud music, concerts, festivals, machinery, traffic, aeroplanes – it now seems harder than ever to escape the noise and mayhem of everyday day life, and the problem may be affecting an even younger age bracket than was previously thought.


Experts at a recent press conference in San Diego have raised new concerns around toys directed at young babies and toddlers, as children are especially vulnerable to noise-induced hearing loss. Their ear canal is smaller and their short arms mean they cannot hold loud toys away from their ears, so parents are being urged to avoid toys and electronic games that emit noise at unsafe levels.


Noisy kitchen appliances have also been reported as a possible threat to children’s hearing, and people can use sound-absorbing items such as rubber mats underneath their appliances as an extra precaution.


As always, there is particular emphasis on prevention rather than cure, as hearing loss treatments, while often effective, cannot always completely restore a person’s hearing.