Heading off hearing loss

Samantha Harper and Francheska Salcedo wait for their bus at S. 6th Street along Nicollet Mall, all a-dangle with hoop earrings, purses and the white cords of their MP3 player headphones.

"Right now, it's up all the way," says Harper, 19, of Minneapolis, referring to her MP3 player's volume, which competes with the urban din at the corner. "It depends on my surroundings. If I were at home, it wouldn't be."

"I listen to my music all day, every day," says friend Salcedo, 18, also of Minneapolis, whose headphones crackle with music. "I've read about headphones causing pressure on the eardrums, but I can't live without my music," she says.

So it goes at bus stops and beyond, as headphone users balance their love of listening with thoughts of the increasingly frequent hearing studies that call out earbud-style headphones as harmful to hearing. Local audiologists say solid data are tough to come by, but that anecdotally, hearing loss seems to be rising for listeners of all ages.

New headphones touted as being safer may help, but common sense still trumps technology for protecting your hearing, the experts say.

"At the end of the day, all that matters is the length of time exposed to a certain level of volume," said Dr. Nissim Khabie, medical director of Ear, Nose & Throat Specialty Care, with several clinics in the Twin Cities area.

He has cautioned some patients and parents of young earbud users, but awaits more hard data.

According to the American Academy of Otolaryngology, volume from MP3 players has been measured at 115 decibels -- well over the 85-decibel danger level. Some doctors recommend the "60/60 Rule" for safe listening: Use a portable music player for no more than 60 minutes a day, with headphones at 60 percent volume.

"There will be nights where I'll fall asleep with my iPod on," said Terry Williams, 23, of Minneapolis, who says he listens 12 hours per day.

But he moderates volume and toggles between basic earbuds at low volume when biking -- so he can hear traffic and his phone -- and noise-reducing headphones in situations where he is intent on hearing the music.

Khabie said "classic" over-the-ear and noise-canceling headphones are a good idea if used properly. Other new products are hit-and-miss. He said products that include a limiter to keep volume below 85 decibels make simple sense. But products that hang outside the ear or direct sound away from the ear would not be likely to overcome other noise. They might, in fact, encourage listeners to turn up the volume even higher.

"I'm not really nervous about hearing loss because I've been listening for years without a problem," said Michael Nelson, 30, of Minneapolis, who says he listens about 45 minutes each day at 50 percent volume.

Even Barbara Friedman, a doctor of audiology at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, said headphone responsibility is up to the listener or parents of young listeners. She said she can only hope her three adult children listen responsibly.

"[Before] they were adults, I'd say, 'If I can hear it, it's too loud,'" Friedman said. She emphasized that damage builds up.

Which gives pause to a listener like Jessica Baumgarten, 24, of Minneapolis, who says she frequents concerts and listens to music via headphones about four hours daily.

"If I had to choose between being deaf and blind, I'd probably choose to be blind," said Baumgarten, who uses over-the-ear headphones, in part to keep them on easier. "I wouldn't be able to live with it always quiet. I really love music."

And in the growing debate, there's always headphone fashion to consider, especially on the bus commute.