Can noise-cancelling headphones damage your brain?

From construction to loud music, the world is getting louder by the day.

As a result, noise-cancelling headphones are becoming popular as a way to block out noise.

However, audiologists are concerned that regularly excluding background noise may impair the brain’s capacity to process audio efficiently.

Let’s take a closer look.

Hearing issues triggered by brain

Some people may find the headphones helpful, and in certain cases, they may be used to shield users from loud noises from the outside world.

Although the degree of acoustic seal varies from product to product, experts think they may also detrain the brain’s natural ability to block out surrounding sounds.

Audiologists at UK-based National Health Services (NHS) have warned that the  increasing use of these noise-cancelling headphones has led to a rise in hearing issues that are triggered by the brain.  

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According to experts, more young people are coming to them for what appear to be hearing problems, but upon closer examination, it is found that the hearing is fine and that the issue is neurological—that is, the brain is having trouble processing what it hears.

This condition is called auditory processing disorder (APD).

It occurs when the brain has trouble processing words or sounds, especially if it fails to distinguish them from background noise.

People with APD find it difficult to communicate in social settings or to understand instructions at work or school. They may have trouble understanding foreign accents or quick talkers.

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Although the disorder has typically been associated with ear infections, childhood brain injury, or a gene defect, many individuals are now presenting with the condition without any of these factors.

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‘Listening skills’ affected

For the brain to determine what is important to focus on, it is crucial to hear a variety of sounds, according to Renee Almeida, an adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

“There is a difference between hearing and listening. We can see that listening skills are suffering,” she told the BBC.

According to Claire Benton, vice president of the British Academy of Audiology, the brain may “forget” to filter out common sounds like car beeps or train noise if they are blocked out.

“You have almost created this false environment by wearing those headphones of only listening to what you want to listen to. You are not having to work at it,” she told BBC.

“Those more complex, high-level listening skills in your brain only really finish developing towards your late teens. So, if you have only been wearing noise-cancelling headphones and been in this false world for your late teens then you are slightly delaying your ability to process speech and noise,” she added.

The noise-cancelling headphones market is expected to grow to $45.4 billion by 2031, up from $13.1 billion in 2021.

David McAlpine, the academic director of Macquarie University Hearing in Australia, told Gizmodo that “big tech companies” appear to be solving a hearing problem by “creating a listening problem.”

“If you stop putting sound into your ears … your brain overcompensates by turning up its internal gain. It completely alters your neural pathways — we know this. Monkeying around with the sound energy going into your ears is monkeying around with what your brain evolved to be doing," McAlpine explained to The Guardian last year.

Moreover, this also affects the way people listen to music and watch videos. According to one YouGov survey, more than three in five young adults aged 18 to 24 watch their favourite shows with subtitles on.

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Other adverse effects

One of the other primary concerns of noise-cancelling headphones is the potential to become unaware of important ambient sounds like traffic or announcements when travelling.

“Noise-cancelling earbuds may bring welcome silence, but they might also mask vital sounds that could save your life,” Josh Gordon, head of innovation at the Singapore technology company Geonode, told Fox News Digital earlier.

Wearing headphones for prolonged durations and listening at high volumes can cause build-up pressure in the ear canal and lead to discomfort, hearing fatigue, headaches, disorientation and dizziness, as per the Times of India.

Improper hygiene can also increase the risk of ear infections as it traps moisture in the ear canal.

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Treatment

Dr Amjad Mahmood, head of audiology at Great Ormond Street Hospital, who spoke to the BBC, says reexposing the brain and ears to processing words in an environment of noise is a common treatment strategy.

App-based games, microphones, and low-gain hearing aids are a few examples of this.

Safe listening

Decibels (dB), a logarithmic scale with exponential rises, are used to measure sound intensity. A noise that rises from 80 dB to 90 dB in this system is ten times more strong for your hearing and will appear to be roughly twice as loud.

The World Health Organization (WHO) suggests that a safe listening environment during an eight-hour workday is 80 dB. Additionally, this is the volume of noise you would anticipate at a busy restaurant.

According to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a motorcycle engine operating is around 95 dB loud, but a horn announcing an incoming subway train and athletic activities is approximately 100 dB loud.

Noise cancellation still plays an integral part in preventing noise-induced hearing damage from extended exposure to loud volumes. Noise pollution has been connected to several other health issues, such as high blood pressure, stress, sleep disturbances, and decreased productivity.

Audiologists suggest balancing the use of noise-cancelling headphones because it is crucial for the ears to constantly experience natural, unmuffled settings to maintain their ability to filter sound.

Dr Ruth Reisman, a clinical audiologist and hearing aid dispenser in New York State, recommends limiting usage to two to three hours a day, as per Fox News.

With inputs from agencies