It’s a myth that headphones cause more ear damage than speakers.

95dBs measured at the eardrum are 95dBs independently if the source is 10m away or inside your ear canal.

Now most people tend to blast louder on headphones than they do on speakers, I tend to do the opposite, so in my case speakers cause more damage.

If you “just turn it high enough to hear it” then there’s no damage. In fact if you listened to speakers you would have to probably turn it louder to overcome the environment noise than you do on headphones that muffle outside noise.

If you search “OSHA dB chart” you should get a basic idea of how loud is loud, note than ear damage is cumulative, so it’s OK to blast super loud for few minutes a day, on the other hand if you listen to music all day you need to play at lower levels.

Also, listen to your body, if after a listening session you hear tinnitus (ringing in your ears), then it’s too loud. (That doesn’t mean it’s OK just because you don’t hear ringing)

I usually listen around 100dB(A) but I don’t recommend it.

Headphones are absolutely fine. I tend to crank music and have 0 loss in hearing over the last 10 years (we get annual hearing tests at work for OSHA). I do have a significant hearing loss in one ear but that is genetics and hasn’t gotten worse in 3 decades of using headphones.

Just don’t turn it up so loud it hurts, and once you find an initial good volume don’t turn it up later. You acclimate to the sound level so it seems quieter.

If you have to use headphones, use soundcancelling like AirPods Pro or whatever else that has noise-canxelling and set your phone to use headphone safety where it reduces the maximum volume to as much as it can

I used to mow lawns growing up. Would listen to headphones to drown out the mower. 30 years later I essentially hear this 24/7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D96_1AsUajA My wife (and everyone else who knows me) knows my general hearing is bad, but not horribly so, and much worse in noisy situations. There are times when I don’t hear that tone as much, but it’s there every morning when I wake up and it’s quiet.

Also, at max volume, I had to hold the phone speaker on my ear to make sure that video was even making a noise.

Frequencies above 6k-7k have disappeared/are always there.

Do yourself a favor and take advantage of noise-canceling headphones so you can keep the volume down.

Been doing it for almost 30 years. I still have better and more precise hearing than most.

However

Most people in the “headphones bad”-crowd fail to understand that it’s the volume and not the medium at fault. I’ve always been very afraid of permanent damage to my senses, ears and eyes in particular, so as much as I love head banging to loud music, I ensure it’s not too loud. I’m the kind of person who brings earplugs to a concert (the type that dampens the audio without distorting it). I rarely need them, but I keep them with me just in case.

Sounds like what someone says who wants to know and control what you’re listening to

I’ll teach you a trick: if something really is as bad as someone says then why does everyone do it? I would say like the majority of young people on public transportation are using earbuds for their daily commute and they’re obviously not deaf

Anyways I’ve played guitar and used earbuds since like 12 and my ears are certainly not in a good place.

Listen to music at comfortable levels and don’t max it out even if it feels like you want to.

I’m far from deaf though.

Headphones don’t make you go deaf, it’s the volume level. Just keep the volume low and your hearing will be fine.

Fear mongering. Definitely.

Depends entirely on the volume and time spent at that volume.

Just using headphones in general? No.

As someone who has had tinnitus for nearly 30 years, PLEASE take care of your ears. Headphones don’t always mean T, but if you listen loud enough, you WILL get T. Respect ear health.

As others have already said: take breaks. It’s really easy (speaking from experience) to “get used” to a volume level that’s way too loud, ESPECIALLY if using isolating or noise-cancelling headphones.

Part of how your brain determines if something is too loud is its contrast with the environment. Yelling at the top of your lungs sounds a lot louder in a quiet library than it does in the middle of a live concert. Taking a break both recalibrates your sense of loudness and gives your ears a rest.

If you can afford decent “reference” or “studio” headphones, you’ll enjoy the same music at MUCH quieter levels than cheaper or lower-quality headphones. They are designed to be used for long periods of time by professional audio engineers and musicians, who are notoriously protective of their hearing and perfectionistic about even the most subtle of sounds.

Although I was a broke college student and couldn’t afford hardly anything they talked about, I learned a ton scrolling through audiophile forums like Head-Fi ( https://www.head-fi.org/forums/ ). Now I’m less broke, but somehow equipment envy and window-shopping just feels more right than spending way too much money on something I probably don’t have the time to enjoy anymore… Such is life.

edit: stupid grammar mistakes

Yeah, it is a bit more fatiguing on your ears but not inherently more dangerous to them, what is important is to listen to your body and don’t push it too long for too loud. Your ears need breaks! It is weird but true. Damage doesn’t come from headphones, it comes from not paying attention to your body and not giving your ears the breaks they need.

What I would say is if you are turning up music on your headphones to drown out something else that is loud, that is when you are much more likely to hurt your ears without realizing. Try to get noise cancelling headphones if you find yourself doing that.

I have you tagged from an older post and remember your mom saying some whack ass shit in another post you made. Headphones won’t make you deaf unless you’re absolutely blasting your music at full volume.

I hope you’re feeling better soon and not letting her shit get you down. You got this.

Tinnitus? Yes, if you listen to very loud music a lot for years and years. Deaf? No.