Now comes word from researchers that today’s youth may face even greater risk of damaging their hearing because they’re directly plugged into loud music.

There is a certain irony about this because modern devices allow them to listen to their music while not disturbing anyone, so today no one is shouting, "Turn down the music!"

And that’s the problem, according to researcher Robert Novak, director of clinical education in audiology at Purdue University.

He says he is seeing more old ears on young bodies. Portable music players such as iPods are causing an increase in noise-induced hearing loss among young people.

"It’s a different level of use than we’ve seen in the past," Novak says. “It’s becoming more of a full-day listening experience, as opposed to just when you are jogging.”

Novak says he and his team of researchers are seeing young people "who are losing some sensitivity that we wouldn’t see until the 30, 40, and 50-year-old decade."

He says, "People have something coupled to their ear more hours a day. Your ears have much less rest time."

This was echoed by Deanna Meinke, an audiologist at the University of Northern Colorado, who also heads the National Hearing Conservation Association’s task force on children and hearing. She says people often turn up the volume to levels that cause damage to hearing.

The bottom line is that hearing damage appears to be occurring at a more rapid pace today. At the very least, people who are using headphones should be keeping volume at a reasonable level and should carefully monitor their listening time. Breaks are important.

People, especially teenagers, who dial up the decibels, someday may be wearing another device in their ears, only it won’t be playing music.

By Canon City Daily Record