Gamers who play video games with the sound turned up for long periods could be risking permanent damage to their hearing, a study has reported.
A paper, published in the journal MBJ Public Health in the UK, said gaming with sounds on high volume could lead to irreversible hearing loss or the development of tinnitus – which is a constant ringing in the ears.
For the paper, researchers reviewed 14 studies involving gaming and hearing – some going back to the 1990s – which involved more than 50,000 people in all.
As a result of the findings, researchers are calling for more efforts to raise awareness of the issues that could develop for gamers – similar to campaigns that have worked with live music and headphone use.
One study found that average headphone noise levels in four shooting-based games were between 88.5 and 91.2 decibels. However, the World Health Organization says the safe noise limit for adults to be exposed to is 80 decibels for 40 hours a week. But the safe limit of exposure to noise drops rapidly – adults should only listen to 85 decibel noises for four hours per week, and just one hour and 15 minutes of 90 decibel noise. The thresholds are lower for children, who are big gamers and could be at greater risk.
Some games have short bursts of sound – such as shooting noises – of 119 decibels, the researchers found.
Researchers reported that some studies found a link between gaming and hearing loss or tinnitus but conceded that more research is needed to establish if there is a strong link between gaming and hearing loss. Nevertheless, they add that the evidence available suggests gaming is a common source of unsafe listening.
The researchers concluded that there may be a need for interventions such as educating gamers about the potential risks of gaming and promoting safe listening.
So, the next time someone tells you to turn the noise down when you are gaming, it might be worth listening to them – it could just save your hearing in the long term.
