BEWARE OF EARPHONES!

- S.Harshini

Today's tech-crazy generation is addicted to gadgets like iPods and mp3 players, since they enable us to listen to music wherever we are. It is very common to see youngsters with their earphones plugged in, listening to music at very high volumes. Some of them play music at such high volume, you could make out the song's words even if you are standing further away!

However, this is a very dangerous practice as it could lead to deafness! To understand this better, we need to see how our ear works. Sound travels down the ear canal and causes the ear drum to vibrate, which in turn causes the three small bones in the middle ear to vibrate and amplify the sound. The third middle ear bone vibrates against the cochlea of the inner ear. The cochlea, with frequency sensitive hair cells, converts the vibrations to electrical signals and sends them to the brain.

When exposed to loud sounds, these hair cells temporarily lose their function, so the sound has to be made louder to hear it. The cells can recover after a single exposure, but if they are continually exposed to loud noises, they end up dying.

Another adverse effect of prolonged noise exposure is 'Tinntus' a ringing sound that is experienced even when the person is away from the source of the noise.

Avoid these dangers by following some simple steps:

• Don't listen to music over earphones for more than an hour a day;

• Keep the volume at a maximum level of 60 per cent and not more

• Rest your ears after long sessions with earphones.