The New York Times has provided validation for one of my many pet peeves: earbuds. Virginia Heffernan, who writes The Medium column in the NYT Magazine, cites research that earbuds are bad for your hearing. No offense to the scientists who conducted the research, because I'm excited to have proof--but we needed a study to prove this? Really, that blasting music into a device that you shove in your ears will cause hearing loss?
Virgina laments the fact that hearing loss in teenagers has jumped 33 percent since 1994, but her larger point is the isolation that escalating earbud use fosters in our society. Totally agree, and my kids aren't allowed to use earbuds, but I am, according to many, a neurotic lunatic.
The main thing I want to focus on here, though, is the pain engendered by earbuds. Doesn't it hurt you to cram those things into your ears? I just won't do it. I have the old fashioned kind of headphones that fit over your ears. It occurs to me that earbuds are the aural equivalent of thongs. Am I overly sensitive? Maybe.
HA. I appreciate your last comparison. I hate earbuds and headphones. I've had several interns who sit with them in their ears all day long...
ReplyDeleteI hate earbuds, can't use them. I think I must have little tiny ear canals. The earbuds always pop out. I asked for a received headphones for Mother's Day. Am now very happy. I grew up listening to music that way and it just sounds right. Though we did try the noise-canceling headphones yesterday at Best Buy, and I found them creepy and disorienting. The aural equivalent of being blindfolded.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love Virginia Heffernan.
I hate the earbuds that come with my iPod, but there are other ones available that are much more comfortable - they're made of a softer material and don't fall out of your ears. While the hearing loss thing does make me a little uncomfortable, I have to say that they're a hell of a lot more convenient when it comes to size and transport.
ReplyDeleteGimme a chunky pair of headphones anyday. If I'm listening to music I want everyone else to know it too that I'm unavailable at the moment. Besides the tiny buds just make my ear canals hurt.
ReplyDeleteI don't know.. maybe your lunacy is the catching kind, but it always seemed a wee bit rude to me for people to have those earbuds on all the time (shopping, movies, hanging out with friends). Is that bad kind of crazy weird? It's like deliberately snubbing everyone else in the entire world because the world isn't worth your attention.
Agreed. I always thought I had small ear-holes too. Those crazy ipod ones give me an instant headache like a pair of ill-fitting sunglasses so I use these little tiny Sony ones that have mushy sort of enoki mushroom tops. I have some biggies from 1996 but I feel weird wearing them in public, like I'm an aging DJ trying to hold onto my youth.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that I love my earbuds! But then I also sleep with earplugs (an old habit from college years), so maybe that makes me more used to the feeling of having something crammed in my ear canal. I also am not really into blasting music loudly and find that I actually use a lower volume with earbuds than with other earphones because the quality is better.
ReplyDeleteI wear them when I go running. Every other kind of headphone either falls out of my ears or bangs me on the ears and is annoying. I also admit that I sometimes appreciate earbuds BECAUSE they're isolating - they make all the difference when crammed in a commuter train or trying to fall asleep on a red-eye flight.
Hmm...I should clarify because Mireille has a good point. I don't wear my earbuds (or any headphones) when in any kind of social interaction. I take them out when I board the bus or train so I can speak to the driver if I (or they) need to. Ditto when checking out at any store or hanging out with friends. I would find that totally rude.
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