Surely you have noticed that people around your wear headphones and earbuds at almost all times. Even you probably do the same. When exercising, we listen to our workout playlist, switch to another one when going for a relaxing walk, or just enjoying a warm summer night on our patio.
What’s more, many people started using these during work hours, especially in open space offices, to block the noise and not disturb others. But, now, a question arises. Are your headphones too loud? As you know, this can be damaging to your hearing, but it can also bother people you work with. Here are some different ways for you to check if your music is too loud.
Ask people around you
The first thing you can do is ask people you spend the most time with if they can hear what you are listening to. If they can list the songs you have on repeat, the earbuds are too loud. This can turn out to be especially concerning if they also use headphones, but they can still hear yours when sitting nearby.
We understand that focusing on your job can be really difficult if you work in an office with several people who are constantly moving around, entering and exiting, or talking amongst themselves. However, this doesn’t mean that you should damage your hearing by turning up the volume to the max. Instead, you should invest in headphones with a noise cancellation feature, and you can find suggestions on www.forthesound.com.
Listen from a distance
We have all done this test, especially when on a bus or some other crowded place. The truth is that we are more conscious about this when we a surrounded by people we don’t know. We don’t want to annoy them, so we always make sure that our headphones aren’t too loud.
Well, this is another thing you can do. Play some song and place the headphones on a surface at arm’s length. If you can clearly hear the lyrics, it is too loud. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t put on your favorite song when conducting this test because you will recognize the lyrics anyway.
Can you communicate with others?
As already mentioned, many people use headphones to eliminate the noise around them and focus on work. However, this doesn’t mean you can go on an entire day without communicating with your colleagues. Even though you want to distance yourself in a way, you still need to be able to hear them whenever they speak to you.
So, this is another test you can try. Put your headphones on, play your favorite tunes, and choose the desired volume. Now, if you can hear and understand the person sitting next to you, you are okay. However, if their voice is muffled and you have to read lips to understand what they are saying, you should turn the volume down.
Consult your device
Nowadays, every device possesses a feature to notify you if the music is too loud. Most of us tend to ignore this warning, especially when we are surrounded by many people and a lot of noise, and we can’t clearly hear the song even if the volume is turned up to the max. Yes, there is a new habit you have to adopt. Every time your smartphone warns you that the music is too loud, you should turn it down.
No, don’t turn this feature off. Even though it can be annoying sometimes, it is there to protect your hearing. If this is still not enough of a reason for your to activate it, you should always check the volume level. A general rule is not to exceed 60%, that is, two-thirds of the bar.
Do you hear ringing and buzzing?
Surely you are familiar with the sound of buzzing in your ears. It happens when you spend some time exposed to high-volume sounds. Naturally, it is usually the case with concerts and nightclubs, when you have to yell to say something to your friend. It is entirely normal to face this discomfort the day after the show, and it usually goes away after a few hours.
Nevertheless, the problem arises if you experience buzzing and ringing after listening to music via your earbuds. There is an easy way to check this. All you need to do is go and find a quiet place. If you experience any of these sounds, you should turn the volume down. In addition, you should try this experiment after 3 hours of wearing headphones.
Do you suffer from headaches?
Obviously, many things can cause a headache, everything from sleep deprivation to dehydration and stress. However, many people aren’t aware of the fact that it can also be caused by prolonged exposure to high-volume sounds. If you are faced with this issue often and can’t really pinpoint why the headaches occur, you should think about the volume of your earbuds. The thing is that the uncomfortable noise puts a strain on your inner ear, overstimulates the brain, and therefore, causes a headache. If you believe that this is the core problem, you shouldn’t use headphones for some time to give your ears a chance to recover. It goes without saying that you should be careful about the level of volume in the future because otherwise, this problem will occur once again.
Install a sound meter app
Finally, the last thing you can do to check whether the volume of your headphones is safe is to download a sound meter app from the store. There are several of these apps, so go through the comments and reviews to find the best one.
According to experts, if the sound is between 60 and 80 decibels, you are okay. Everything above 85 decibels can pose a danger. On the other hand, if the meter detects noise over 100 decibels, you should immediately turn the volume down because otherwise, you could only listen to the music for 15 minutes if you want to avoid damage.
