Earphones cause more hearing damage than headphones or speakers?

[Matias]

Is it true that earphones cause more hearing damage than headphones or speakers? Do we "feel" that music is too loud better on headphones and even better on speakers in a room and know better to lower the volume? Are there studies supporting this (and links please)? Thanks in advance.

 

[AudiOhm]

If your hearing is damaged from in ear headphones, on ear headphones or speakers, it was not the device but the person controlling the volume...

Ohms

 

[Blumlein 88]

Just my opinion, but yes. I think IEM are more likely to be turned up enough to cause damage than headphones (though in theory with the filtering out of background noise you'd think otherwise), and headphones are more guilty than speakers. Though of course all can cause damage it seems the smaller transducers are more likely to be turned up higher. Maybe because they can be cleaner doing so.

 

[aikofan]

My experience is that IEMs > closed headphones > open headphones > loudspeakers when it comes to level of temporary hearing loss and ear ringing when subjective loudness is kept constant. Of course, I have no way of determining whether the actual dB level at my ear drum is the same when I’m listening in all these different ways, but if I’m listening at what sounds like a comfortable level with closed headphones for an hour, my ears are ringing afterwards and dulled to high frequencies, while an hour of listening at what feels like similar volume through loudspeakers doesn’t result in any noticeable hearing loss for me. But this is just my subjective, anecdotal experience and I’m not aware of any studies on this.

 

[monkeyboy]

I thought this issue had to do with earbuds, where you crank up the volume to be above the ambient noise when commuting etc...I use etymotic IEMs which have fantastic isolation, I typically have the volume at the lowest setting on my phone/DAP....similar for headphones, I tend to listen in a quiet enviroment at low volumes....

 

[Matias]

Yes, I also have the gut feeling that with proper isolation from an IEM we tend to actually listen to lower volumes than an open headphone or speakers in a typical noisy living room.

And yet there are all these newspaper articles on how kids are blasting their ears with IEMs and the dangers of permanent hearing loss etc etc.

That is why I was after some proper research on this topic.

 

[monkeyboy]

With regard to speaker volume for example, the HVAC system they have in the rental I'm is sucks....it's forces hot air, and it sounds like a turboprop when it's on...I think lowing the noise floor in general is a good idea, so I go for closed back headphones and high isolation IEMs (etymotics, I'm not sure others even exist)

 

[ebslo]

I'm always tempted to turn up the volume more with IEM's. I think there are several factors to this:

1. Higher perceived noise floor (even when unplugged), similar to what I perceive with earplugs.
2. Low distortion. The Fiio FD5's I use have much lower distortion than any of my headphones or speakers, which takes away one of the usual loudness cues.
3. No tactile perception of bass. The IEM's reproduce even deep sub-bass well, but I only hear it. No volume level with IEM's will make me feel the bass, so that's another loudness cue missing.

 

[egellings]

My opinion (I'm not a hearing expert) is that any sound that is loud enough hitting the eardrum can cause hearing loss, regardless of the source, be it speaker or earphone.

 

[Cote Dazur]

I also have the gut feeling that with proper isolation from an IEM we tend to actually listen to lower volumes than an open headphone or speakers in a typical noisy living room.

I share your opinion, in theory, if used properly, they should be safer as they need less volume to achieve the same loudness to our ears.

And yet there are all these newspaper articles on how kids are blasting their ears with IEMs and the dangers of permanent hearing loss etc etc.

Newspaper? Really? Since when do they have an expert opinion on anything?
As far as kids being care less and putting them self or their ears at risk, quite possible, I remember doing my fair share of stupid things way back then. If the main source of music for kids are IEM, then, yes, that is where the threat is coming from.

 

[solderdude]

The 'danger' of IEMs can lie in the sensitivity. This can be very high and even a phone can drive these headphones to well above 120dB (by accident).
Also pushing a well sealing IEM in creates a pressure, a bit similar to a planar headphone without pressure equalization being pressed on the head quickly.

In general answer #2 makes the most sense to me.

The higher the isolation of a headphone the less likely one is to play loud.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Just my opinion, but yes. I think IEM are more likely to be turned up enough to cause damage than headphones (though in theory with the filtering out of background noise you'd think otherwise), and headphones are more guilty than speakers. Though of course all can cause damage it seems the smaller transducers are more likely to be turned up higher. Maybe because they can be cleaner doing so.

That last point is the main thing. I think in ears sound more clean. And as we know, cleaner undistorted music can be turned up higher without discomfort.
With active noise cancellation making this more true than before.
I like apples approach with measuring / calculating the SPL and logging it and warns you if the threshold has been reached.

 

[don'ttrustauthority]

My opinion (I'm not a hearing expert) is that any sound that is loud enough hitting the eardrum can cause hearing loss, regardless of the source, be it speaker or earphone.

So you don't think that sealing the ear canal and pumping it with decibels in a vacuum is more dangerous than over ear headphones at the same decibel level?

 

[egellings]

Yes. It's excessive eardrum excursion from sound hitting the eardrum that matters, no matter how it's gotten, either by way of intra- supra- or circumoral phones, or even speakers, for that matter. I can see your point that it would be easier to pressurize the eardrum with an airtight intraoral type, though. Bottom line is eardrum excursion--too much of that damages hearing, however that is brought about.

 

[MRC01]

I think environmental ambient noise is a significant contributing factor. Earbuds or headphones that don't cancel or isolate noise can have people cranking it up louder in noisy environments like subways, buses, airplanes, etc. Those that isolate or cancel ambient noise facilitate quieter listening levels.

 

[Bleib]

Harder to escape anything that is constantly attached to the head.. so speakers should be safer but if you go to clubs often then expect to lose it faster than normal. Distance often helps.
With IEMs I always play it low enough to hear the traffic.

 

[MRC01]

Tip: musician's earplugs. They are custom molds that fit deep into the ear canal with filters that attenuate sound without muffling it - like turning the volume down on the world. They are low profile, comfortable and can be worn underneath motorcycle helmets.

 

[egellings]

In a loud nightclub setting, I have been known to go to the men's room, grab two squares of toilet paper, and make earplugs out of them. I'd adjust the packing in the ear to get a tolerable volume level.

 

[ahofer]

I took some DB readings at the Dead & Co. concert at Citi Field. Steadily around 98 (a-weighted), with peaks up to 108. I was near third base and the stage was in center-left field. Outdoors tends to be not as loud, too.

I used attenuators, and, honestly, the frequency balance seemed better with them on. I could pick out instruments a bit better, although a bit rolled-off in the highs. And no ringing afterwards.

 

[Emlin]

I often wear iems in the pub when listening to music and BBC R4, and am often surprised by how loud it is 'outside' when I take them out.