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Volume should be turned down - based on your use of headphones in the last seven days, you have exceeded the recommended limit of sound exposure"
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Most people who use an iPhone and like to listen to music in their headphones probably recognize the warning.
And it's there for good reason.
"Unsafe listening methods" are actually a danger to young people's hearing.
That's according to an international research team that studied the music habits of 19,000 young people.
The research team, led by academics at the University of South Carolina in the USA, has analyzed previous studies conducted in various countries between 2001-2021 and published their findings in autumn 2022.
"We are exposed for a much longer time"
Their conclusions: At least one billion people between the ages of 12 and 34 around the world are at risk of some form of hearing loss later in life.
The reasons are, among other things, noise, loud music events and, not least, the use of headphones.
The authors point to the need for new technology that makes it easier for people to understand the sound exposure they are exposed to, which the World Health Organization (WHO) has also pointed out before.
- The headphones have meant that we can listen to things we like much more often, on the way to work, on the walk and at home on the sofa.
It will be a much longer time that we are exposed to high noise levels, says Zebastian Alsbjer-Aronsson, audiologist at the hearing clinic Eartech.
- It may not be noticeable now, but it will come when you get older.
I usually compare it to a wear and tear injury that slowly deteriorates hearing, says Zebastian Alsbjer-Aronsson.