Children’s Headphones May Carry Risk of Hearing Loss

[iPolymer]

New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/health/headphones-hearing-loss-kids.html

WireCutter: http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-kids-headphones/

 

My analysis: 

 

The New report by WireCutter.com finds half of Kids Head Phones tested did not restrict volume to the promised limit. The group also reviewed the headphones ability to reduce background noise, like when you are on a plane or in a car. Without noise cancellation the natural tendency is to turn-up the volume to hear over the background noise, carrying the Risk of Hearing Loss. 

 

Only 4 of the 30 sets of headphones tested blocked significant amount of outside sound. Those are:

• Etymotic ETY Kids
  • $49 USD
• Puro IEM200
  • $29.99 USD
• Direct Sound YourTones
  • $119.95 USD
• Nabi Headphones
  • $69.99 USD

This doesn't just effect kids, as hearing loss in men and young adults is problem as well. The study does focus on kids headphones but also proves that buying quality headphones is worth it for anybody.  

 

From the New York Times: 

Quote

The devices limit the volume at which sound can be played; parents rely on them to prevent children from blasting, say, Rihanna at hazardous levels that could lead to hearing loss. 

 

“These are terribly important findings,” said Cory Portnuff, a pediatric audiologist at the University of Colorado Hospital, who was not involved in the analysis. “Manufacturers are making claims that aren’t accurate.”

 

“Headphone manufacturers aren’t interested in the health of your child’s ears,” he said. “They are interested in selling products, and some of them are not good for you.”

 

Safe listening is a function of both volume and duration: The louder a sound, the less time you should listen to it. It’s not a linear relationship. Eighty decibels is twice as loud as 70 decibels, and 90 decibels is four times louder. Exposure to 100 decibels, about the volume of noise caused by a power lawn mower, is safe for just 15 minutes; noise at 108 decibels, however, is safe for less than three minutes.

 

 

 

How the test was conducted: 

 

They played Cold Water from Major Lazer for 21 seconds half of the 30 headphones went passed 85 decibels with the highest at 114 decibels. 

 

Pink noise was played to test if 85 decibels is the limit for the headphones. 1/3 go past 85 decibels with the highest at 108 decibels.  

 

WireCutter: 

Quote

[...]iPhone as our source device, because iPhones are the loudest source most people will encounter—the iPhone’s internal amplifiers are more powerful than those found in most Android phones. We ended up using an iPod touch (sixth-generation model), which was able to play slightly louder (+0.38 dB) than our iPhone 6s and substantially louder (+4.4 dB) than our Samsung Galaxy S6. The iPod touch is popular as a “starter screen” for young children, so it seemed an appropriate choice here. We haven’t, however, exhaustively tested the output of all possible sources—video game consoles and home theater receivers, for example—so we’re unclear on how these headphones would perform with them. In any case, such devices would likely be used by older kids with gaming headsets, which don’t make any volume-limiting claims and are somewhat outside the scope of this guide (though parents and caregivers should be aware).

 

From Wire Cutter Sound: waves enter the ear and vibrate the eardrum, which in turn moves the middle ear bones (malleus, incus, and stapes) and causes the fluid and tiny hairs inside the cochlea (inner ear) to move. Those hairs stimulate nerve cells that send a signal to your brain, which it interprets as sound.

 

WireCutter: 

Quote

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2010 (PDF), the incidence of hearing loss in US adolescents ages 12 to 19 increased from 14.9 percent in 1988–1994 to 19.5 percent in 2005–2006. That means nearly one in five teens are facing noise-induced hearing loss. 

 

Here’s the catch: Limiting levels to 85 dBA does not mean, in itself, that the listener will be safe. To return to our sunburn analogy, just as with damage done to your skin, damage done to your hearing is most often due to prolonged and continuous exposure. Continuous exposure to noise over 70 dBA, not just an instantaneous loud event, is what does the harm. So over enough time, even the recommended limit of 85 dBA can be problematic.

 

In fact, the 85 dB recommendation is based on old (conducted from the 1950s into the 1970s) OSHA studies showing that “of people exposed to 8 hours of 85 dBA, 92% didn’t have handicapping hearing loss.” That isn’t to say they had no hearing loss or no damage, just that they weren’t handicapped by it. Hardly reassuring.

 

Quote

The competition

Ranked by pink noise dBA volume levels (with the results of our L_eq testing with music alongside), the following chart lays out the measurements of every model of headphones we tested for this guide, as well as some brief comments on why they did or didn’t end up among our top picks.

Model	Pink Noise dBA	Music/LeqdBA	Panel feedback and editors notes
Onanoff BuddyPhones InFlight(toddler mode)	69.3	76.1	Fine, if you can keep the limiter dial set to safer modes.
Maxell Safe Soundz 3-5	69.5	79.5	These fit the age described, but our little kids found the earpads “too hard” on their ears and therefore “uncomfy.”
Kidrox	75.6	83.7	Massive on our toddlers. The “extension pad” didn’t stay put. On the “hate list” for the older kids, because “the foam is hard and they’re so weird.”
Onanoff BuddyPhones InFlight (big kid mode)	76.9	84.8	The InFlight has a volume-options dial on the side that’s easy for kids to adjust on their own, so we don’t fully recommend this pair.
iFrogz Little Rockers	77.4	82.2	Neither our toddlers nor our big kids were into this pair. Older kids thought it would break easily and didn’t like the fit.
Coloud Boom Kids(minimum setting)	77.4	82.7	The lowest setting on the dial is in safer ranges, but we don’t love the guesswork involved. Additionally, our panelists found that the plastic green pegs on the headband pushed into their cheeks.
JLab JBuddies Folding	78.2	86.7	The headband was too large for our toddlers, who ripped these headphones off. Our bigger kids put these on the “hate list” because they “feel really plastic and breakable.”
Fuhu Nabi(kid setting)	78.7	83.3	Our toddlers called this model too big, while the older kids put it on the “hate list” because it’s “heavy and the cushion on top pushes into your head.”
MEE KidJamz(switched on)	79.8	84.4	This measurement is with the “hidden limiting switch” on. Older kids might be able to thwart the switch with a pencil. One of our panelists said, “They’re okay. I like others better.”
Maxell Action Kids	80.6	83	A toddler top three, and great for car seats with narrow head protection. Older kids found this set too small. Be careful with the removable decorations, however.
Puro BT2200	80.8	85.0	Beloved by all ages, and within claimed volume limits, these headphones were the number one pick for every panelist.
JLab JBuddies Studio	80.9	87.5	Too big for the 3-year-olds, but the older kids loved the cushy earpads and sound. Note: Larger/older noggins (12 years and up) may find this model too snug. The lifetime warranty is also a nice feature.
Direct Sound YourTones	81.0	83.3	Great isolation, but the fit was huge on our toddlers. One of our big kids said, “These squeezed my head and gave me a headache.”
Puro OEH-200	81.7	86.5	The only “lice-proof and water-resistant” headphones, these were too big for our little ones, and our bigger kids weren’t huge fans of the foam on the headband. But they do sound good, and might be a good school-issue option.
Onanoff BuddyPhones Explore	82.1	88.6	Our toddler pick—our little kids loved the fit, and the set folds up for easy portability. Safer volume. Too small for our bigger kids, however.
KidzSafe	82.4	89.7	Too big for our 3-year-olds, and one 11-year-old said, “They hurt my cheekbones. Too tight on my face, and the cord is weird.” But the volume was reasonable, at least.
Kidz Gear KidzControl wired (with dongle)*	82.8	88.3	As with the wireless Kidz Gear model, neither our toddlers nor our big kids were thrilled with the fit.
Maxell Safe Soundz 6-9	84.0	88.8	The big kids on our panel didn’t mince words: “Too small, plasticky, and feel like they’re gonna break easily.”
Puro IEM200(in-ear)	84.6	88.3	If you need in-ears for older kids, these are a good choice. Definitely not for the little ones (choking hazard), and are easier for older kids to lose.
Rokit Boost Chill	84.9	89.2	Our little ones weren’t enthusiastic, perhaps because of the weight. Our older kids were “fine” with them, just not as excited as with other models. A decent option.
Puro BT2200(supplied cord)	85.2	90.3	With the Puro corded, the resistor can reach volume levels just beyond what we consider safer for longer-term listening in our Leq test. Use with care.
JVC Tinyphones HA-KD3	85.2	91.8	“Uncomfy,” said our 3-year-olds. “Too small and plastic,” declared the 4- to 11-year-olds.
Onanoff BuddyPhones InFlight(airplane mode)	85.8	93.7	The airplane-mode volume is unsafe for listening longer than approximately two hours, so definitely use with care and take other noise exposure into account.
Sakar Kid-Safe(My Little Pony)	86.3	89.0	We thought the kids on our panel would be swayed by characters. We were wrong: The little ones ripped these right off, and the big kids were way too savvy. “Uncomfortable, plastic, cheap.” The adults were schooled.
Etymotic ETY-Kids3	86.6	88.9	We don’t recommend in-ears for toddlers due to potential choking hazards. Our big kids, meanwhile, weren’t into the pine-tree tips.
LilGadgets Untangled Pro(BT)	88.0	92.7	One of our big-kid panelists picked this pair as his favorite, tied with the Puro. “Comfy, fit well, and good sound,” he said. Sadly, unsafe volume levels bumped it from our picks.
Sony MDR-222KD	89.2	91.7	Our 3-year-olds were okay with this set but liked the flexible headband on the Maxell better. Our older kids thought it was too small and didn’t like the foam.
Fuhu Nabi(parent settting)	89.3	94.6	The Nabi has parent/kid settings for volume that are very easy for kids to defeat when unsupervised.
JVC Tinyphones HA-KD6	89.7	90.9	Too big for our toddlers, “stiff and uncomfortable” according to our big kids.
Sakar Kid-Safe(Batman)	n/a (breakage)	93.9	One of the earpads fell off right out of the box, and we couldn’t get it back on. Then the headband snapped during measurement. If cautious adults could break this pair, it would stand no chance against kids. Total fail.
LeapFrog Headphones	89.9	96.7	Way, way too big for little noggins, and our older kids weren’t enthusiastic. They didn’t dislike this pair, but with so much competition, they found many others they liked better.
AmazonBasics On-Ear Headphones for Kids	91.8	95.0	Too big according to our 3-year-olds, and middle of the road in comfort for our 4- to 11-year-olds.
LilGadgets Untangled Pro(wired)	96.1	99.5	Wired, the volume limiting on this pair was even worse.
LilGadgets Connect+	98.7	104.0	Volume problems aside, these were a mixed bag with our kids. The headband was too large for the toddlers; half the older kids liked the rubber feel and fit, while the other half found them uncomfy.
Kidz Gear Bluetooth*	101.7	107.6	Completely failed our volume tests, and our toddlers and older kids disliked the plastic headband and “uncomfy” fit.
Kidz Gear KidzControl wired (no dongle)*	105.6	110.5	The included dongle is the key to volume limiting—without it in place, the volume goes off the charts. But it’s so easy to remove and lose that we can’t guarantee it would stay in use.
Coloud Boom Kids (max setting)	106.1	112.1	A dial inside the earcup allows parents to set the volume limit, but it offers no guidance on the settings. We’d rather not have to guess on what is safe. We took this measurement at the highest dial setting.
Puro BT2200(third-party cord, or cord reversed)	107.9	110.6	A flaw with our pick: If the cord is backward or you use a third-party cable, the volume limiting doesn’t work. We recommend marking the cable and supervising kids when they’re listening while corded.
MEE KidJamz(switched off)	108.1	112.6	The small switch that activates volume limiting makes a massive difference in levels. We took this measurement while it was switched off.
Kidz Gear Bluetooth (via cord)*	108.4	114.4	With the included cord, this pair did even worse on our volume-limit testing.

Our color coding is as follows:

Blue: safest for over eight hours of listening; green: safe for eight hours or less; orange: use caution (use for one hour or less); red: unsafe (use for 15 minutes or less).

Pink noise column: <80 dB blue; 80–87.9 dB green; 88.0–100 dB orange; 100+ dB red
L_eq column: <80 dB blue; 80–89.9 dB green; 90–100 dB orange; 100+ dB red.

Because L_eq is variable, we allow a wider margin of error in our color coding for the L_eqthan pink noise, which plays at a fixed level. For pink noise measurements, green allows for 3 dBA over 85 dBA; for L_eq measurements, green allows 5 dBA.

*After we reached out to the company for comment, Kidz Gear altered the claims on its website about its wireless headphones, changing the language from “the safest listening experience possible” to “the best and most importantly enjoyable listening experience possible.” However, as of this writing, the company still refers to its wired headphones as the “safest.”

 

[Guest]

If you are a parent and you let your kids listen to headphones all the time you are doing wrong

[doomsriker]

TLDR. people will always try to blame companies for their own faults. It is the parent's responsibility to monitor the volume level. If anything, the device being listened to should be made to have a child safe mode of some sort. 

[iPolymer]

1 minute ago, doomsriker said:

 

 

Of course it's the parents responsibility, but personally It's to good to know when buying for yourself. 

[tlink]

3 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

If you are a parent and you let your kids listen to headphones all the time you are doing wrong

all the time isn't what makes hearing damaged. if they for example listen to music on the bus to school or during travels than that is enough to damage the ear. the point is that there isn't enough control on the max output of headphones, no matter who you are you will suffer from it. 112 decibel is no joke to get blasted in your ear. in construction you can work about 10-20 minutes a day before it gets a significant risk of hearing loss (there already is a chance within that time to have significant hearing loss, just not necessarily handicapping)

[doomsriker]

This is the same crap we got with the 3ds. "oh no it will kill kids eyes". Than get a 2ds or put some scotch tape over the 3d slider. I'm sick of the media making up problems to create a story. 

[tlink]

1 minute ago, doomsriker said:

This is the same crap we got with the 3ds. "oh no it will kill kids eyes". Than get a 2ds or put some scotch tape over the 3d slider. I'm sick of the media making up problems to create a story. 

how is this bullshit? the headphones literally got advertized as sound limiting so they are better for your hearing, which most of them weren't. its not an exaggeration or anything, its completely relevant to the advertised product because its used as one of its selling points.

[Electronics Wizardy]

5 minutes ago, tlink said:

how is this bullshit? the headphones literally got advertized as sound limiting so they are better for your hearing, which most of them weren't. its not an exaggeration or anything, its completely relevant to the advertised product because its used as one of its selling points.

I don't see the point of sound limiting headphones. In most os's you can limit the max volume and password protect that. 

[Mira Yurizaki]

1 minute ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I don't see the point of sound limiting headphones. In most os's you can limit the max volume and password protect that. 

No you can't.

 

At least not easily or out of the box.

[ThinkWithPortals]

[tlink]

4 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

I don't see the point of sound limiting headphones. In most os's you can limit the max volume and password protect that. 

your OS doesn't know what amount of decibels your headphones are actually outputting. and parents often don't have a decibel meter to measure where that point is and lock it to that, not even to mention that most parents just aren't that tech savvy to set up device administration like that. it all depends on the headphones resistance, if the resistance is high it will be much less loud than a very low resistance pair of headphones. this is why audiophile headphones need an amp to play with mobile devices, mobiles just can't pack the punch to drive them a lot of the time.

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, tlink said:

it all depends on the headphones resistance,

NO the restance, the sensitivity.

 

Just test it. Play it at a normal volume, then limit it to that.

[Dackzy]

FFS this is basic logic. "oh you loose hearing if you listen to music that is too loud" NO SHIT SHERLOCK. That is like saying "oh you die, if you don't eat or drink anything ever again".

 

I swear people are getting dumber and dumber.

 

Heck I am sure that there is a app, that would let a parrent limit the max listning levels. If there isn't then there you go, I just gave you a billion dollar idea.

[tlink]

7 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

NO the restance, the sensitivity.

 

Just test it. Play it at a normal volume, then limit it to that.

and what exactly is normal volume? And no not sensitivity, resistance. its measured in Ohms which is resistance. its often called impedance on headphone specs but its literally resistance.
 

Quote

When a circuit is driven with direct current (DC), there is no distinction between impedance and resistance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_impedance

 

Quote

The ohm (symbol: Ω) is the SI derived unit of electrical resistance

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohm

[Dackzy]

7 minutes ago, tlink said:

SNIP

You are so wrong.

The sensitivety of the driver matter way way more. That is also why 300 ohm headphones can be easier to drive than 32 ohm headphones.

 

K612pro: 120 Ohm, sensitivity: 101dB

He 560: 45 Ohm, sensitivity: 90dB

 

The He 560 are way harder to drive

[captain cactus]

It's called a volume limit on the device outputting the sound. Most if not all modern audio-playing devices have it.

[tlink]

1 minute ago, Dackzy said:

You are so wrong.

The sensitivety of the driver matter way way more. That is also why 300 ohm headphones can be easier to drive than 32 ohm headphones.

 

K612pro: 120 Ohm, sensitivity: 101dB

He 560: 45 Ohm, sensitivity: 90dB

 

The He 560 are way harder to drive

but doesn't the Ohms mean how much punch is needed to drive it to that volume? weird how does that work? do you know a resource where i can read about it?

[iPolymer]

32 minutes ago, deXxterlab97 said:

 

When they are bored and screaming what do you do?

[Electronics Wizardy]

6 minutes ago, tlink said:

And no not sensitivity,

Still wrong its sensitivity. Speaks are normally measured in db per 1w or 2.83v(1w at 8 ohms)

 

7 minutes ago, tlink said:

what exactly is normal volume?

Normal you know when something is too loud, right?

[Electronics Wizardy]

3 minutes ago, tlink said:

but doesn't the Ohms mean how much punch is needed to drive it to that volume? weird how does that work? do you know a resource where i can read about it?

If a speaker has a bigger cone, a better enclosture, a horn, a biggermagent, it can make more db, with out extra power.

[Dackzy]

2 minutes ago, tlink said:

but doesn't the Ohms mean how much punch is needed to drive it to that volume? weird how does that work? do you know a resource where i can read about it?

just go to the audio sub forum and ask ssl, I am on my phone right now. Or wait 12-13 hours for me to respond again, since I am off now.

 

[imreloadin]

1 minute ago, iPolymer said:

When they are bored and screaming what do you do?

Be the parent and don't give in? Seriously, this is what is wrong with most parents, they set a limit and then cave on it later...

[iPolymer]

19 minutes ago, M.Yurizaki said:

No you can't.

 

At least not easily or out of the box.

In the article it shows how to do it on iOS

[tlink]

5 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Normal you know when something is too loud, right?

well that might be the case for you but what if that isn't the case? its still bad that the rated decibel output is completely off in so many cases from what is advertised. it also doesn't defeat the point that i was trying to make that was that the OS doesn't measure the decibel output from the headphones since this can drastically differentiate between pairs which makes this methode very inacurate. you should be able to trust what it says on the packaging, especially with very specific specifications that give the impression that something is semi safe to use unsupervised.

[Electronics Wizardy]

4 minutes ago, tlink said:

its still bad that the rated decibel output is completely off in so many cases from what is advertised. 

Unless you have electronics in the headphones, you can just crank them louder.