3M Hearing Training Video

[@kishenpankhania363]

I get it, loud noises can damadge my ears, but is there any accurate way of measuring decibels though Bluetooth headphones? I generally listen at 30-40% max and usually less than 2 hours, but sometimes my ears still might hurt afterwards (could be just the pressure from the ear pads)

[@matthenderson4019]

Hi. I'm a Certified Occupational Hearing Conservationist and audiometric technician. I've performed around 75,000 occupational hearing screenings over the years. Generally, it's recommended that a person listen to their earbuds no louder than 50% volume. More specifically, it might not be that simple. For noise, the dose makes the poison and the dose depends on the intensity of the noise you're exposed to and the length of time you're exposed to it. The widely accepted danger level for noise is 85 decibels (dB) for 8 hours of a single day. For every 5 dB the average noise level increases the exposure time considered dangerous is cut in half: 90 dB for only 4 hours, 95 dB for only 2 hours, etc. So really it depends on how loud your earbuds are at the level you're listening to them and how long you're listening to them. So with all of that being said, from my experience people who report listening to music as their only noisy hobby tend to have very little indication of damage due to noise exposure. This is because their exposure time is usually fairly short -- your less than two hours is probably pretty typical. I can't find any data online but I would venture to say that earbuds simply don't produce a time-weighted average of 95 dB of sound for the two hours you're listening to them to cause damage. Soreness isn't an indicator of damage due to noise exposure. Ringing in the ears and diminished acuity (numbed hearing) are. Soreness is much more likely to be caused by the pressure of the earbuds on your ear canal. So as long as you're listening to your earbuds at a level less than 50% and you aren't listening to them for crazy amounts of time each day you should be fine. If you want to be sure, there are earbuds that automatically limit their output to a safe level and they have a noise reduction rating too (in case you're exposed to external noise that you need to protect yourself from: www.amazon.com/3M-Peltor-EARbud2600N-Earbuds-70071614732/dp/B0046H8QHC/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1531768280&sr=8-16&keywords=3m+earbuds Good luck!

[@WeAreRSGroup]

Thanks for your comment Matt, It was a really interesting read. We have a vast range of 3M Peltor products that you are more than welcome to browse: uk.rs-online.com/web/b/3m-peltor/ Or if you wanted to discuss this further, we would be more than happy to. All the best.