Preserving your hearing is apparently important for maintaining overall health, including cognitive health - a fact that will surprise exactly no one who has ever tried to hold a conversation with someone wearing AirPods. According to a 2020 Lancet commission report, hearing impairment is one of 12 modifiable risks for developing dementia, which is a polite way of saying that blasting music directly into your ear canals might make you forget where you left your keys.
Hearing health experts recommend the 60-60 rule for listening with headphones: never listen at a volume louder than 60% of maximum for more than 60 minutes at a time. The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders notes that noises at or above 85 dBA - roughly the sound of a gas-powered push lawnmower - can damage your hearing. Inside your ear, the cochlea converts sound vibrations into electrical impulses using thousands of delicate hair cells. Excessive volume can destroy these hairs, and unlike your phone's battery, they do not regenerate. Once they're gone, they're gone.
Several headphones and earbuds now include companion app settings that notify you when you've been listening too loudly for too long, and some may even automatically reduce the volume - presumably to save you from yourself. Experts warn that constant exposure to loud noise from frequent headphone use can lead to more intense hearing loss at a younger age, which is a great reason to invest in hearing aids before you actually need them.
Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy, and Apple iPhones all offer hearing health features in their health apps, with the most robust awareness coming when you pair each manufacturer's headphones with their respective smartphone. For example, your iPhone can track headphone audio levels for every pair of headphones you've connected, though recordings are most accurate with AirPods. If you also wear an Apple Watch, it can record environmental sound levels and notify you when your surroundings are concerningly loud - like every Atlanta Falcons game, where the watch recorded a peak of 114 dBA. A mere 15 minutes at that level can damage your hearing, which is about the length of time it takes for the Falcons to blow a lead.
Hearing health experts assert that active noise cancellation (ANC) should not replace traditional hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs, especially in loud environments like factories or construction sites. However, in everyday situations, ANC can reduce environmental loudness, discouraging you from maxing out your headphones' volume. A 2022 study in the Journal of Audiology and Otology found that using headphones, especially in-ear earbuds, in noisy environments can reduce excessive recreational noise exposure. The author's own best example: at a packed gym, an Apple Watch recorded 104 dBA, while AirPods' noise cancellation provided 27 dBA of protection, keeping headphone audio under 85 dBA for a 45-minute workout - proving that even at the gym, technology can save your ears from your questionable taste in workout playlists.