Tag Archives: Digital audio player

Take Care of Your Buds

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Circumaural headphones have large pads that su...

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That is your ear buds.

A recent study showed that personal ear bud use may cause permanent hearing loss.  I use a  Sansa E250 2GB MP3 Player as my personal music player of choice. It is quite versatile (including an FM tuner and microphone) and has lasted pretty well, not to mention dirt cheap! I’ve talked about my mp3 use before, especially the safety issues and sharing my personal playlist (which is now a little outdated).

In the back of my head I have thought about the impact that all of this mp3 usage might have on my ears.  But never thought enough about it to worry too much.  I’ve thought more about my safety while running than the impact on my hearing.  I remember as a kid getting yelled at to turn down my Discman or Walkman, with the threat that I’d lose my hearing.

Now a study conducted for the European Union confirms that permanent hearing loss can come from too much and too loud of music being played in your ear drum.  The New York Times reported that

The report said that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. Maximum volume on some devices can generate as much noise as an airplane taking off nearby.

That is a lot of noise!

The report issued by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks, a name which implies they probably don’t use too many iPods, had some more bad news.  We might not feel the effect of our usage for many years. 5-10% of listeners may have hearing loss within 5 years, if they listen to music at a high volume for more than an hour a day. The now famous earbud may make things worse since the overall sound exposure is higher than the older, more traditional models.

A 2006 lawsuit claimed that the Apple iPod can produce music at 115 decibls, while 89 is the border line for safe listening.  It begs the question of why they would produce something at that level.  Well probably the same reason we keep building faster computers or cars with more horsepower.  Bigger, Faster, and Louder means something is BETTER!

SO WHAT! Maybe you want to go deaf or you don’t believe in scientific research, well you can stop reading! For the rest of us they study recommends limiting listening through headphones/earbuds to no more than an hour a day – with the volume set at around 60% of the maximum volume.  Got that? No more two hour long rungs with the ear buds – unless you skip a day somewhere else! This is just a guideline they offer so feel free to disobey – at your own risk and don’t sue me when you lose your hearing.

I guess I won’t be blaring my music anymore so that my training partners can hear the latest MPR program or Phedipidations episode – sorry guys.

[tags] Hearing Loss, mp3, iPod, ear bud [/tags]

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Running with Music in My Ears

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Its a growing trend to see runners of all types running with headphone or more recently “ear buds.” Do you run with an iPod or other music player? On one occasion I actually saw someone listening to their cellphone (with headphones), presumably using it as a mp3 player.

This trend has caused some concern with fellow runners, race directors, and even the USATF. The USATF has actually banned the use of music players during sanctioned races. Updated: Headphones are allowed for non-championship runners, if the race directors allow. (more here) Conversely, it has caused some excitement for the folks at Nike who created the Nike+ system. I’ve not actually used the Nike+ but would love to hear your reviews, it seems like a neat system.

I do have experience with a few different mp3 players. I’ve used the Dell DJ Ditty (which is no longer being sold) and the Sansa e250, which I absolutely love. It is great to use with the armband and provides hours upon hours of entertainment. My wife uses an iPod, which is great for sedentary activity or gym workouts, but tends to freeze while she runs. Checking the Apple forums, this seems to be a pretty common experience. Suggestions included running with it in your hands instead of on your bicep. That seemed to do the trick, but isn’t quite as convenient. Runner’s World provides some more insights into different players here.

I tend to listen to a wide variety of podcasts when I run. My wife thinks I’m a geek and would prefer listening to upbeat music to help carry her through the run. A nice place to get music for running or working out is called Fitpod. Fitness + iPod = Fitpod You can search for your running pace, workout type, and length and get a music selection to fit your needs then download it and go for your run!!

With this fad it is still important to be safe and courteous to other runners. If someone is listening to music they can’t hear you approaching or signalling that you are going to pass them, which has caused many near heart attacks I think, when I go by people. In that vain I’ll close with a list of 7 safety tips from Runner’s World.

  1. Limit yourself to listening to music only while on the treadmill or during races (although some don’t allow it).
  2. If you’re outdoors, run in safe, familiar, public areas with minimal (or better yet, nonexistent) traffic.
  3. Whenever possible, run with a partner. Running buddies who don’t listen to music may feel a bit snubbed, but there’s safety in numbers, and it’s always good to have at least one pair of unencumbered ears.
  4. Or run with a dog. Canines love exercise even more than we do. They’re great security and they don’t mind being tuned-out.
  5. Consider open-air, or supra-aural, headphones, which do not seal off your ear canal, allowing more ambient noise (like car horns and cycling pelotons) to remain audible.
  6. As for volume, keep it just loud enough to hear the music but low enough that you can hear the sounds around you. It’s a fine balance-but it’s worth locating.
  7. Finally, don’t assume that the one-ear-only method is any safer. Research shows that using headphones in just one ear can confuse your brain-perhaps more dangerous than listening with both sides of your head.

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