Frequent use of music players can lead to hearing loss — medical specialists

Young Filipinos risk hearing difficulties — and at worst, hearing loss — due to frequent use of music players, medical specialists warned yesterday.

Dr. Charlotte Chiong, vice president of the Philippine Society of Otolaryngology, said in a health forum that most young Filipinos, aged 14 to 24, own music players and spend hours listening to loud music.

Most of these young people even increase the volume of their music players when they are in a noisy environment, she said.

More than listening to loud music, Chiong reveals that those working in call centers are also at risk because they tend to increase the volume of their headphones when talking to customers.

Filipinos who have unhealthy lifestyle are also prone to hearing problems, which are usually caused by frequent intake of caffeine, alcohol, tobacco and salt.

Though 50 percent of hearing loss is curable, Chiong said medication has been tested only on animals, and specialists are still studying the right dosage for humans.

Chiong said they are planning to conduct a local study on the effects of music players to Filipino college students. About 1,000 students from a Metro Manila university will be selected randomly to undergo the study.

A separate study among university students in the Bicol region will also be conducted for comparison, she added.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rina Quintos, a member of the PSO, said a study showed that four of 700 Filipinos have hearing difficulties. Another survey showed that 40 percent of school children in the country have mild hearing loss.

"It’s very insidious, bago mo malaman mahina na talaga ang tenga mo (before you know it, the hearing loss is in its advance stage)," Quintos said.

She explained that the tolerable level of noise for adults is 0 to 25 decibels (dB) and 15 to 20 dB for children.

Dr. Josefino Hernandez, associate professor of the College of Otolaryngology of the University of the Philippines, said listening to sounds 85 decibels and above for eight hours is injurious to the ear.