Saw this post at the MMR.

Yes, you heard me correctly. That cool iPod that is stuck to your ears 24/7 can lead to noise-induced hearing loss. CNN reports that a random examination of young people have shown a loss in the ability to hear higher frequencies, evidenced at times by mild ear-ringing or trouble following conversations in noisy situations. More people in their 30s and 40s — many of them among the first Walkman users — has been shown to suffer from more pronounced tinnitus, an internal ringing or even the sound of whooshing or buzzing in the ears. It takes multiple exposures and years to develop, so by the time you find out it is often too late. Nowadays this has been made worse by portable music players with long-lasting rechargeable batteries, which means people are listening for longer periods of time, and music these days is certainly louder and noisier than before!

Come to think of it, I’ve already noticed some form of hearing impairment in myself. While listening to the radio in the car, I used to turn up the volume to 16 but nowadays, I’m listening to it at 20. And I doubt it’s because the radio stations are broadcasting at lower volumes.

Obviously my ears are getting less sensitive nowadays. Speaking of which, I did recently hear wooshing sounds in my ear. Oh gosh. Good thing I’ve been able to stay almost headphone-free for about a year since moving into a single room. Though I doubt that will reverse any of the previous damages to my hair cells, which are the cells in the ears that are responsible for hearing.

Oh, and by the way, don’t ask me why they’re called hair cells. Someone just named it that way. Like how someone came up with the brand “Nose” for shoes.