Just one hour listening to MP3 player can damage hearing

Just one hour listening to MP3 player can damage hearing

Updated at: 1101 PST, Saturday, June 26, 2010 LONDON: Listening to music on an mp3 player for an hour or more could lead to long term hearing loss, a study says. Just one hour's listening to an MP3 player can damage hearing, claim scientists. It causes temporary changes in hearing sensitivity, which may lead to long-term harm, according to a new study. The findings show over-stimulation of hair cells within the ear occurs even at varying volume levels for short periods of time. The study of almost 60 young people carried out by researchers at Ghent University, Beligium, is published in the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery journal. It follows previous warnings from doctors that using MP3 players at high volumes with earphones that fit into the ear canal could lead to loss of hearing. In the latest study, 21 people aged 19 to 28 years were exposed to pop and rock music using MP3 players at varying volumes for one hour. A second group of 28 men and women were a control group who were not exposed to MP3 music. Hearing tests were carried out before and after the exposure, which found 'significant threshold or emission shifts were observed between almost every session of the noise exposure group compared with the control group'. Lead researcher Hannah Kempler said: 'It is well known that excessive occupational noise exposure can lead to noise-induced hearing loss.