Safety FAQs For Using Headphones & Earbuds

While I search the internet for headphones issues I found that people are asking several questions about using and wearing their earbuds and headphones from time to time, and since most of these questions are irrelevant to each other I decided to create this post to answer most of the common safety FAQs about using headphones and earbuds.

Table of Contents

• Are Earbuds Safe?
• Is It Bad To Wear Earbuds All The Time?
• Is It Bad To Sleep With Earphones While Mobile Is Charging?
  • Cons
  • Pros
• Do Earbuds Cause Ear Wax Build Up?
  • How To Prevent from having Earwax build up?
• 15 Ways To Stop Tinnitus From Getting Worse
• Conclusion

Are Earbuds Safe?

Yes and No, it all depends on how you use them, in other words, it depends on you, not on the earbuds, for instance wearing the earbuds for a long time while playing your music in high volume levels is very dangerous for your ears, however, wearing them for short times with low to moderate volume should be very safe for you.

As you know that listening to loud sounds or music for a period of time could cause hearing loss, you can read more about this crucial point from my other article CAN EARBUDS DAMAGE YOUR EARS? OR CAUSE HEARING LOSS? to learn how to protect your hearing.

Also, you should consider another aspect of safety when it comes to using earbuds which is how your ear skin reacts to them while wearing them, you know inserting a weird object into your ears could make a kind of negative reaction by your ear towards the object (your earbuds) which would cause your ear to produce more wax trying to protect itself.

As a conclusion, using your earbuds in moderate in terms of sound volumes and time to use it should be fine with no harm to your ears.

Is It Bad To Wear Earbuds All The Time?

Definitely Yes, wearing your earbuds all the time is very bad practice for both your ear health and your hearing as well, I am assuming that your question is meant to be relevant to listening to music all the time which is very bad to your ear.

This could also lead to hearing loss eventually if not expediting the hearing loss, and if not then you will be having the signs of hearing loss by having tinnitus and distorted continuous sounds in your ears.

Wearing your earbuds all the time or for a long time is also causing your ears to be filled with wax, which leads to reducing your hearing ability due to blockage of the ear canal.

Not mentioning the headache you could have over time, as well as the negative impact caused by the earbuds radiation, to learn more about headphone radiation you can visit my other article WILL USING A BLUETOOTH HEADPHONE CAUSE A DAMAGE TO MY HEAD? to understand the risks behind radiations.

Is It Bad To Sleep With Earphones While Mobile Is Charging?

Yes, it is bad and not a recommended practice to sleep with your earphones or headphones on, for some extent it could be safe with a positive result, but if your practice was the wrong way then you should be cautious.

I will describe to you below the pros and cons as well as the danger of putting your earphones on all night while sleeping.

Cons

Let’s start with the cons first, sleeping with earphones in your ears while the mobile is charging associated with a certain amount of risk, as described below:

[1] – Hearing Risk: Listening to music or sounds more than 60 dB could ruin your hearing, even if while sleeping, putting a high volume distortion of any sounds or music for a long time would physically lead to damage your eardrums. So consider this point as the main con because protecting our hearing has the highest priority among any other points.

[2] – Mobile Phone Risk: Regardless of what brand of mobile you have and especially if it is the cheap made or not very much known brand could have the chance to explode while charging, and this is due to the poor quality of their batteries, the risk increases while listening to earphones or headphones because you have to place the mobile nearby you due to the length of the headphone cord, thus, the explosion could be fatal.

Also, it’s important to mention that when you charge your phone make sure to place the phone on a solid base or stand and not on a bed mattress or not under any pillows or blankets as those will cause it to overheat while charging the mobile, hence the battery gets warmer so better to keep this heat at its minimum by giving the phone a good ventilation place.

Sleeping with headphones over night also have other disadvantages and advantages, to read more about this you need to visit my other article IS IT SAFE SLEEPING WITH HEADPHONES NIGHT LONG?.

[3] – Electrical Shock Risk: Since the mobile phone is connected directly to an AC power outlet to be charged, chances are increased in case of any malfunction or short circuit to electrocute you through the headphones while you are sleeping, and definitely the result is fatal, there are many cases over the world about people who died through their sleeping because of an electrical shock they had while wearing their earphones. You can learn more about the risks of getting electrocuted by your headphones from my other article CAN I GET ELECTROCUTED BY EARPHONES OR HEADPHONES? – ANSWERED to realize how and why could you be electrocuted by your earphones.

[4] – Environment Risk: Listening to music while sleeping first of all will isolate you from your surrounding which could put you in danger or risk positions if an accident happened inside your home, or someone is calling you, or someone breaks the door or the window you won’t be able to sense that.

[5] – Earbuds Risk: Putting earbuds into your ears for many hours would definitely cause the ear canal to create extra ear wax as well as developing Otitis Externa, a condition that will be developed when the ear canal develops irritation.

Pros

But, in terms of pros, listening to music while sleeping with your earbuds on with a device specifically that is working on batteries and not connected to the main AC power socket would have some good impact, and I will show you below how and why:

[1] – Block Noise: If you are experiencing environmental noises while sleeping or sounds from outside the room, putting an on-ear special sleeping headphone with a volume of below 60 dB should block all noises.

[2] – Relaxation: Listening to what we call white noise or relaxation music while sleeping should do the trick of a better sleeping experience. A study by BBC News, stating that:

Researchers have shown just 45 minutes of relaxing music before bedtime can make for a restful night.

[3] – Sweet Dreams: Also, the study stated that people in a music group reported a (35%) improvement in their sleep, including better and longer night-time sleep as well as less dysfunction during the day, this means a noticeable increment of sweet dreams for those who listen to relaxation music before going to bed or during their sleeping.

[4] – Learning While Sleeping: Another research was done by the Guardian that people who listen to audio that contain information while sleeping result an increment and enhancement for better learning this information comparing to studying it while awake, this is also good for people who want to improve their foreign language words memorization and learning.

Do Earbuds Cause Ear Wax Build Up?

Yes, they do, and to understand why this is happening we should think about how our ears do, our ears assume any plastic or other materials to be inserted into the ear canal to be as a foreign object, so in order to our ear to protect itself it needs to use some sort of methods to reject or react against that foreign item, so what it will do! it will produce more earwax to prevent that object from going further deep into the ear towards the eardrum and other physical parts.

So, having a lot of amount of ear wax inside our ears is not something healthy yet not good for hearing as well, because having earwax above the average could cause an ear canal blockage which will cause a temporary deafness.

How To Prevent from having Earwax build up?

A simple answer to this question is by using our earbuds with moderation, whenever you feel your ears are itching you while wearing your earbuds remove them from your ears for a while.

15 Ways To Stop Tinnitus From Getting Worse

To answer this question you need to know that there are many factors that could get the tinnitus in your ears worse, so, reversing those points and preventing them should stop your ears tinnitus from getting worse.

During my online research, I found that there are several factors related to Tinnitus, some cause the ringing and others make it worse. They range from anemia to thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, as well as structural problems with your inner ear, but to go further in details here we go:

1. Loud Noises: Loud sounds or noises from sources like headphones, machinery, and concerts can cause damages to your ear ranging from short-term ringing to permanent hearing loss.
2. Sleeping Problems: One of the most common reasons behind tinnitus, not getting enough sleep can trigger tinnitus or make it worse. Better to sleep for about 8 hours every night, if it is hard to have a good sleep better to ask your doctor.
3. Alcohol Drinking: Drinking alcohol can boost your blood pressure, it can make you notice the tinnitus in your ears.
4. Depression And Anxiety: Being depressed can make the sounds you hear seem louder, better to consult your doctor for what drugs should assist you in having better emotions.
5. Allergies: Some kind of allergies may act as an infection inside your ears, seek your doctor’s advice.
6. Jaw Problems: Your jaw shares nerves with your middle ear, so having jaw problems can cause ear pain and/or noises to your ears.
7. Medicine: Taking medicine such as antibiotics, antidepressants, cancer drugs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, diuretics, and high doses of aspirin could cause ringing in your ears especially when the dose is high.
8. Stress: Having stress and being under pressure can make the ringing seem louder.
9. Earwax: Earwax as well sometimes builds up and can cause ringing problems.
10. Infections: If you hear ringings in your ears while having a cold, you could have an ear or sinus infection.
11. Blood Pressure: If you know that you are having blood pressure issues, check it often, this might be the cause of your tinnitus.
12. Migraines: A Migraine also leads to ringing in your ears.
13. Smoking: Smoking is a bad habit, it can narrow the blood vessels that bring oxygen to your ears as well as causing your blood pressure to go up, in other words, it increases the chances of having tinnitus in your ears.
14. Caffeine: Caffeine can also raise your blood pressure, this is also lead to ringing ears, try to cut it for some time and check your ears.
15. Structural Problems: Sometimes the design of your inner ear might be the cause of the tinnitus, this is rarely happening but it could be the reason, consulting your ENT doctor is the best way to discover if you have any structural issues.

Conclusion

Understanding the safety facts of using your earbuds or headphones should make you aware of all the risk possibilities thus will let you enjoy listening to your favorite music with no side effects on the long run.

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