Word: ear
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...want to single out iPods. Any personal listening device out there has the potential to be used in a way that will cause hearing loss. We've conducted studies of a few MP3 players and found very similar results across the MP3 manufacturers. Some in-the-ear earphones are capable of providing higher sound levels than some over-the-ear earphones. That said, studies we've done on behavior show that the type of earphones has almost nothing to do with the level at which people set their headphones. It's all dictated by the level of background noise...
Particularly with noise-induced hearing loss, the primary area where the ear is damaged is not the eardrum, not the part of the ear that you can see and not the bones that are inside the middle ear - it is actually deeper inside. It's where the nerve that brings the sound message up to the brain connects with the inner ear, and it involves some very specialized cells. These are hair cells, and specifically we're looking at the outer hair cells. When they're overexposed or stimulated at too high a level for too long a duration, they...
...order to listen as loud as you want, you need to be careful about how long you're listening. I would also strongly recommend that people invest in better earphones that block out background noise. Some of the research we did studied earphones that completely seal up the ear canal. These are passive sound-isolating earphones, as opposed to the ones that are active noise cancelers that block out some of the noise. As far as I can tell, both would allow people to listen to their headphones at their chosen level - and more likely at a lower volume than...
...having me work at TIME magazine. Standing near the pastry table at 8:30 a.m., I looked up to see Thomas, 50, descending the stairwell like someone who could still sell a lot of posters. "O.K.! We're starting!" she screamed, followed by "Sorry, I yelled in your ear." A bit starstruck, I may have awkwardly responded, "I kind of liked it." To which she said, "Some people do." I don't understand why some people prefer Heather Locklear...
...Until sampling Dr. Dre's Beats - a set of high-end headphone that go on sale today at Best Buys and Apple stores everywhere - I felt the same way about personal listening devices. And I've been trying out many different kinds lately: in ear, over the ear, wireless, noise-canceling, etc., at a variety of price points. Generally speaking, you get what you pay for, but most people would be hard-pressed, within a specific price range, to pick one brand over another...