Safe use of headphones for teens is essential to prevent hearing damage caused by gaming

Janine pudding January 21, 2024 – 6:16 pm

New international research shows that gaming can lead to hearing damage. Previous research by VeiligheidNL showed that more than half of Dutch young people (10-15 years old) use headphones for gaming. In fact, 38% of gamers do this every day. They use headphones to hear sounds from the game, but also to talk to other players. This is not always possible with a safe size. A quarter of young people who play games listen at a high volume level (70 percent or higher), which can lead to hearing damage.

Hearing damage usually occurs gradually, with frequent or loud sounds being heard frequently. These sounds come from your headphones while playing or listening to music. Loud noise also comes from speakers when you go outside, but noise at work, for example in construction, is also an important cause of hearing damage. Therefore, consciously dealing with loud noise is essential.

Tips from VeiligheidNL:

• Do you like gaming or listening to music on headphones? Turn on the volume selector and choose headphones that fit your ears well. This way you are less disturbed by ambient noise and the volume in the headphones does not have to be too loud.
• When going out, wear earplugs, preferably with a music filter. This way, you can still hear the music and people around you clearly, and your ears are protected.
• Do you work in noise? Then wear good hearing protection, such as earmuffs or earplugs, and talk to your manager about what else you can do to prevent hearing damage.

Source: VeiligheidNLPhoto by StockSnap from Pixabay