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There was a time not too long ago when teens blasting music too loudly was everyone’s problem. Parental cries of “Turn down that damned music!” seemed to punctuate every day. But with the advent of tiny, high-performance headphones, the volume battles have become personal and much more challenging to monitor. Now, as more people are plugging into music anywhere and everywhere with what experts call personal listening devices (PLDs), alarms are being raised about a new trend: unsafe listening practices that could lead to widespread hearing loss in young people. via GIPHY A recent global study conducted by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina and colleagues worldwide examined the listening habits of people aged 12 to 34, focusing on exposure to loud sounds from earbuds and headphones as well as at entertainment venues like econcerts, clubs, and festivals. The findings reveal that unsafe listening habits aren’t isolated; they’re a global issue affecting millions of young ears worldwide. Loud music, quiet consequences The study collected data from over 19,000 individuals across 33 studies and found that roughly 24% of young people are likely using their PLDs at unsafe volumes. When it comes to loud entertainment venues, that number rises significantly, with around 48% of attendees exposed to potentially harmful sound levels. via GIPHY Key Findings: Personal Listening Devices: 23.81% of young listeners engage in unsafe listening practices via headphones and earbuds. Entertainment Venues: 48.20% of young people attending concerts or clubs are exposed to volumes that can damage hearing over time. The World Health Organization’s guidelines indicate that listening above 85 decibels for long periods can cause irreversible hearing damage, and many concerts and clubs easily exceed this threshold. With more young people tuning in to louder sounds, often for extended periods, the cumulative impact could be life-altering. "Unsafe listening practices are highly prevalent worldwide and may place over 1 billion young people at risk of hearing loss." — Lauren K. Dillard, lead researcher A hidden health crisis affecting over a billion people The most striking takeaway from this study is the sheer number of young people at risk. The researchers estimate that between 670 million and 1.35 billion adolescents and young adults worldwide could be on a path toward hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices. This staggering number makes hearing damage a serious, though often overlooked, global health issue.via GIPHYHearing loss often progresses gradually, with early symptoms easy to miss. Many don’t realize they have hearing issues until the damage has already affected their quality of life, including their ability to understand speech in noisy settings or fully enjoy music at safer volumes. Dr. Lauren Dillard, the lead researcher, highlighted the urgent need for action, emphasizing that unchecked, this issue could affect a generation. Tech steps in: New solutions to address unsafe listening New features might turn the source of this problem into one of its solutions. aconcagua Recognizing the growing concern around hearing damage, some tech companies are stepping up with innovative solutions to help protect users. Apple, for instance, has recently introduced new hearing health features in its AirPods and iPhones that focus on reducing noise exposure and enabling easy hearing checkups. Hearing Test in iOS Health App: Apple now offers an in-app hearing test available on the iPhone, allowing users to assess their hearing from their device, with results saved in the Health app. Users can even upload professional hearing test results for comparison. Designed to prevent gaming, the test uses randomized tones for accuracy, helping users better understand their hearing health over time. Hearing Protection with AirPods Pro 2: With the recent iOS 18.1 update, AirPods Pro 2 offers hearing protection across all listening modes, including Noise Cancellation, Transparency, and Adaptive Audio. These settings help reduce exposure to overly loud sounds, adding a layer of defense for users in noisy environments. However, extreme sounds like fireworks or gunfire are still beyond its intended scope. As Apple introduces these features, other manufacturers are likely to follow suit, with industry experts suggesting that hearing protection technology will soon become a common offering across high-end audio devices. These developments are a promising step, as technology starts to play a more active role in helping individuals protect their hearing.Protecting your ears in a loud world With sound technology getting smaller, sleeker, and more powerful, it’s easy to slip into unsafe listening habits. But a few small changes can go a long way toward protecting your hearing. Taking regular breaks, lowering the volume slightly, and considering noise-canceling headphones are all small steps with significant benefits. This study’s findings are a wake-up call. Hearing loss is often preventable, but once it sets in, it’s challenging to reverse. By spreading awareness, encouraging policy changes, and practicing safe listening, we can help protect our ears and preserve the music we love—at safer volumes—for years to come.

You don't have to be a religious person to have heard the song "Kumbaya" sung. The song has become so interwoven into the fabric of America that there's even the colloquial term, "Kumbaya moment," that people use to convey a sense of togetherness and getting along. The word has been a part of the American lexicon for decades and the song has been a part of the culture for even longer. But the soothing melody isn't supposed to be sung in a slow melodic tone with everyone singing together in unison. Kumbaya is actually a Gullah Geechee phrase that literally translates to "come by here." If you're unfamiliar with the Gullah Geechee people, they're descendants of enslaved Africans that were brought to coastal plantations in North and South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. The enslaved people were from West and Central Africa encompassing multiple African cultures and ethnicities which created a unique amalgamation of language and culture. "The Gullah Geechee language began as a simplified form of communication among people who spoke many different languages including European slave traders, slave owners and diverse, African ethnic groups. The vocabulary and grammatical roots come from African and European languages," the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor website shares. guitar singing GIF by Cartoon Hangover Giphy This African creole is still spoken today, having influence in African American Vernacular English (AAVE), and "kumbaya" is a Gullah phrase that was turned into a hymn sung by the Gullah people during slavery. But the version most Americans grew up singing isn't the way it was originally sung, nor is it the way Gullah people sing it today. The truth is that the average person isn't aware of the roots of the song because by the time it reached summer camps and church groups, it had been stripped of it's cultural origin.Pamela Bailey, creator of the Antebellum Diaspora Project that focuses on reuniting families separated by chattel slavery recently uploaded a video to social media explaining how "Kumbaya" is supposed to sound. @antediaproject Kumbaya was a “call and response” song that that was sung with great passion! It was a call to action, not the more understated version most known by the masses today. #greenscreen #ancestors #history #research #genealogy #musician #SC #family #preservation #humanity #antebellumdiasporaproject ♬ original sound - ThePamela Bailey "It has occurred to me that many of the people who know and love this song still don't know how the song would have sounded being sung in the Gullah community. First of all, the song would've never been sung in unison in the way that you hear it sung today. It was actually a call and response," Bailey shares before singing an example. The song is not only sung as a call and response but the tempo is much faster and involves quick rhythmic clapping and stomping. One clear example of this can be seen in a recording uploaded to YouTube where a Gullah Geechee church in South Carolina is honoring one of it's members that has passed away. Instead of "kumbaya," the church sings the phrase in standard English as "come by here," but the tempo is much more upbeat and the calls more like painful cry.People in the comments of Bailey's video are excited to learn about the way the song originally sounded, while some grew up hearing it the same traditional way with one writing, "'was never that mellow' is an understatement. i remember my grandaddy singing this in church in SC. it was a true cry for help."Another person writes, "It’s so much more dynamic. Thanks for the education."Someone else says, "That makes more sense. When you sang it that way it sounded closer to how I imagined it."One teacher writes, "Thank you!! As a music teacher, I’m always trying to learn more authentic versions of musics."While many people may not have known where the beloved "Kumbaya" originated, it's not too late to spread the word. Did you know where the song came from and how it was supposed to sound?

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