ARE AIRPODS BAD FOR YOUR EARS AND BRAIN?

ARE AIRPODS BAD FOR YOUR EARS AND BRAIN?

Sit on public transport for long enough, people-watch from a street café or click through a handful of YouTube videos, and you’re sure to recognise these small signature white speakers quite literally hanging from people’s ears.

Apple AirPods account for around 60% of the global wireless earbud market.

But despite their popularity, they’re not without some controversy.  

Some researchers and scientists have suggested that Apple’s big seller could be dangerous.

But are AirPods bad for your ears and brain?  Or is it just scaremongering?

 ARE AIRPODS BAD FOR YOUR EARS?

 

AirPods can definitely be bad for your ears but it’s the same problem with almost any type of earbud: people are more likely to turn up the volume on in-earphones and this can lead to permanent hearing damage.

It’s not a problem specific to AirPods, but they sit outside the ear canal and that means they have poor noise isolation.

If you’re having trouble hearing the audio you’re playing, your reaction will be to dial the volume up. As Angela Lashbrook writes on Medium, AirPods do a poor job of ‘overpowering noise like chattering colleagues or teens on the subway’.

AirPods Pro have noise-cancellation, and this offsets some of the incoming soundwaves and helps keep the volume lower, but noise-cancelling in general isn’t always effective at reducing loud voices: shrill conversations or babies crying, for example.

Whilst on-ear and over-ear headphones offer an additional buffer to noise thanks to their cushions, AirPods don’t.

The reality is that AirPods can be bad for your ears. The design does little to encourage safe listening in noisy environments but Apple may argue that it’s up to the responsibility of the listener.

And is it fair to single them out when you could also pick up any other brand and say the same thing?

But even though other earbuds may be just as poor at noise-isolation, AirPods have 60% of the market share.

If you’ve recently bought a pair of AirPods, you should bear in mind that an iPhone can reach up to 100 decibels and hearing damage can start to occur at around 85 decibels. This is worrying precisely because AirPods are poor noise isolators; sitting so close to the ear canal, they can also ‘elevate sound by up to 9 decibels’.

If you’re willing to listen to your AirPods at a safe volume, then they’re no better or worse for your hearing than any other pair of wireless earbuds on the market. But if you struggle to keep off the volume button when things get a little loud around you, then you might be better considering other headphone options for noisy environments.

Noise-cancelling headphones are much better at reducing ambient noise. This means you’ll be able to hear audio more clearly without cranking up the volume and risking your hearing.

There are rumours thatApple is planning on releasing over-ear headphones in October 2020 so if you can’t be without your Apple-branded products then you might not have too long to wait.

brain may present health problems later on. We don’t know, and some researchers believe it’s fine and others believe wearers should be concerned.

Speaking to Business Insider, Elizabeth Kelley, the director of the International EMF Scientist Appeal, said that anyone who is especially concerned should change their Bluetooth earphones for wired headphones.

The confusion for most people stems from the fact we don’t know. The good news is that you don’t need to buy AirPods if you don’t want to. Buy another brand or buy wired headphones or manage the time you spend wearing in-earphones or don’t wear anything in your ears at all.

And if it doesn’t bother you? Buy your Airpods and wear them without shame.

If you’re ready to jump from earbuds to headphones, don’t forget to add sweat-proof covers to the cushions to protect them from moisture damage and to keep them smelling fresh and looking fab even when you’re working out or gaming regularly.