14 DAY TRIAL // This is the first article in a longer series of materials dedicated to audio tech facts. Some readers indicated that such a section would be quite cool, especially as few of the non-professionals are familiarized with the real basics of audio technology and how it can affect our lives. And because speaking of safety is one of the first things one does when facing a new field, this introductory article will deal with the importance of hearing protection.
Everything relating to audio, from the most beautiful classical pieces, to the hardest metal music or the hippest hip-hop relates to one thing: the sense of hearing. Now, we all live in different places with different noise levels we might be aware of or not and they ARE affecting our lives and health status whether we like it or not.
I guess that anyone likes to crack up the volume pots from time to time, isn't it? Well, this is the biggest problem: not realizing that the higher the sound level is the more vulnerable our hearing gets. The human ear has been designed to withstand a very broad range of sounds, from the detecting weakest (humanly audible) hushes and as well being able to resist in the loudest environments such as battlefields or rock concerts.
Few know that our hearing gets impaired each passing day and the exceptions to this rule are becoming less and less met. Today's sound technology seriously aids this decay: the hundreds of millions of portable music devices from which people are listening to music via headphones are one very important factor in the hearing conditions the contemporary man faces.
In order for you to get a better picture of how serious the improper use of headphones can be let's make a small experiment! Put on your headphones and pump up the volume as for your normal day-to-day listening and speak as if you'd want to speak to someone close to you while asking him/her to speak to you in a normal voice. What do you hear? Some fractured speech as your neighbour would be forced to really shout to make himself/herself heard.
OK, now take of your headphones and repeat the small talk - you hear everything in good condition. Imagine how your house or office would be like for some hours a day if the same sound level would be on for the amount of hours you spend with your headphones on. That would mean one thing: everybody would be forced to shout in order to cover up the noise (music) level and be heard. How much could you withstand such conditions?
This is the biggest problem with headphones: while delivering a very good sound that covers even more than the audible spectrum and making you enjoy every bit of music, it is very common to get carried away and pump up the volume. Prolonged exposure to such environments will cause your hearing sense to start decaying in various ways as different ear/hearing conditions install in your body, ranging from low hearing level for either bass or high frequencies, monaural or binaural (one or both-ears) hearing impairment, a constant hum or buzz noise in your ears and so (unfortunately) many on.
Even the loudest rock bands are taking care of their hearing as it is at least as expensive as yours and both players and technicians around the live stage use hearing protection buds we'll cover up in a future article. Until then, think a bit about how important to you ears and hearing sense are and also think that about one in ten Americans has a hearing condition that affects the ability to understand normal speech, as clearly stated by the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery report... So pump the volume a bit down until the next article in the new Softpedia Audio Tech Facts section. We'll discuss decibels then!
