Noise-induced hearing losses (NIHL) have become more common among adolescents because of increased exposure to personal music players. Many adolescents used to listen to music by headphone. We aimed to assess whether the use of earphones has a significant effect on music-induced hearing impairment in teenage students.

A lot of us are plugged in all the while. But we might just need a re-think on this habit, as new research shows that drowning ourselves too much into them can numb our eardrums for life.

Hearing loss, from mild to partial due to excessive usage of music gadgets is on the increase, especially in youngsters.

Most young people today cannot imagine life without their mobile phone and ipod. Loud music is not part of life, but it is life. Most of them can easily relate to that sensation of ringing ears and dullness in hearing that follows when you listen to high levels of music.

'This ringing in ears, accompanied by pain, is an early warning sign of hearing damage. But very few are aware that these damages are irreversible, and each time they occur, there can be permanent hearing loss.Loud music damages the nerve cells in the ear, which leads to muffled hearing at times.This becomes permanent by the time they reach their 40s.

PREVENT IT IN TIME

One good aspect about hearing loss problem is that people seek help early as it disrupts their daily life, say doctors.

While the bad news is that most cases of hearing loss are irreversible, the good news is that these are easily preventable with the optimum use of these gadgets.

'Listen to music at half its volume, since the damage to your ear varies with the volume and depends on how long you are plugged in.

So, don't be hooked on to these gadgets forever, instead break free from them often to ensure that you don't face any interruption with your music sessions by damaging your hearing power forever.