Music is a powerful part of everyday life, capable of raising our moods, keeping us focused at work, and relaxed on the commute home. But sadly, not everyone is able to enjoy the pleasures that come with music, as studies show that 466 million people worldwide suffer from hearing loss.
As a company with an myriad of pioneering audio brands, HARMAN takes pride in having a talented and robust R&D Acoustics team that ensures we bring safe, top-notch audio products to the market. In honor of National Save Your Hearing Day on May 31, we wanted to help raise awareness about hearing loss and to share our knowledge on ways to listen safely.
Did you know that about 10,000 tiny hair cells inside our ears are responsible for converting every sound we hear into electrical signals? Excessive and loud noise exposure tends to damage the hair cells at the base of the cochlea, resulting in high frequency hearing loss. While the screeching sound of car alarms and shrieking trains can have a significant impact on your hearing health, so can the pleasurable sounds individuals may enjoy from a nightclub, rock concert or their favorite song through their headphones.
Although there are a number of factors that can allude to hearing loss that aren’t under our control, like age, genetics and illness – people can take control by protecting their ears from noise exposure. The rise of hearing loss shows a direct correlation with the evolution of wearable audio devices like noise-cancelling headphones. But fortunately, today, there are also a number of cutting-edge hearable devices on the market designed to protect our auditory senses. For instance, the JBL Reflect fit, a Bluetooth-enabled, behind-the-neck sport headphone, enables consumers to control what they hear. Additionally, HARMAN’s Ambient Aware technology on the JBL Everest headphones allows audiophiles to remove background noise with the touch of a button.
The world isn’t going to get any quieter, but there are ways to lessen the impact powerful sound has on our hearing. For more than 70 years, HARMAN’s mission has been to deliver superior, safe audio products to consumers whether in the car, in the home, at work, on the go and everywhere in between. We want individuals to enjoy the pleasures of music and sound throughout their lives, which is why we’re committed to creating audio products that offer excellent protection from ambient noise. So we always advise consumers to look into innovative hearables that allow them to control what they hear and how they hear it.
High time you protected your auditory senses. Wouldn’t you agree?