While a good workout is good for everything from muscle tone and balance to weight control and improved heart and lung function, for those of us who plug in when we work out, we might be doing more damage than good according to a study published in The International Journal of Audiology.
The director of the study, Dr. Bill Hodgetts, PhD, an assistant professor of Speech Pathology at the University of Alberta, Canada, asked study participants to listen to the same music in three different listening environments:
- resting in a quiet environment;
- resting in a loud or noisy environment; and
- exercising on a stationary bike.
"People generally listen to music at reasonable levels of volume, but we've found that exercising, mainly because of the background noise, can influence people to turn up the volume to potentially unsafe levels for the ear," Dr Hodgetts reports in The Journal. If you exercise, you know it’s true.
The study revealed that we tend to increase the volume on our personal music players to cover background noise. The gym is one example where background noise can be high which causes people to turn their music up higher while working out.
There’s a lot of external noise coming at you at the gym. How many gyms have TVs blaring in front of the line of treadmills or exercise bikes? There’s the noise made by the workout equipment. Each treadmill adds to the overall sound threshold.
In addition to environment noise, the person working out can actually create additional noise while exercising. "Heavier breathing and the distracting sounds from the exercise machines could be factors," explained Dr. Hodgetts. "People also like to make the music louder because it pumps them up."
People listening to tunes in a quiet environment tend to listen at lower listening levels because there’s no competing sound. They can focus on their music or audio book at lower sound levels.
Multiple previous studies agree with the present. The louder the ambient sound in the environment, the louder listeners turn up the music. But then, when you add the internal huffing and puffing of exercising, the study reveals that those who use MP3 players during workouts listen at 75% of max volume – and that’s definitely moving into the hearing danger zone.
Dr. Hodgetts offers some good advice. "The gym is a noisy place. Background noise is the main factor in why people will raise the volume on their personal playlist. Any earphones that reduce the background noise, either with an active noise cancelling circuit or just a good tight seal, will allow people to still enjoy their music without having to turn it up so loud," he said. "It's a small price to pay to protect your hearing."
The study specifically urges those who exercise to keep at it. It’s good for you. "Don't stop exercising. Don't stop listening to your iPod. If listening to music helps you exercise, keep doing it”, states Dr. Hodgetts.
Consider investing in your earphones, there are many that can block out unwanted background noise and reduce the likelihood of listening at unsafe levels.
For more information on this study and how listening to loud music can cause hearing loss, visit: Pumping the Volume When Pumping Iron May Cause Hearing Loss
