Protecting hearing with MP3 players

I use an MP3 player when I go to the gym, and I often find myself turning up the volume to drown out outside noises (such as the radio I don't want to listen to). I've read that MP3 players can cause permanent hearing damage at high enough levels, so I want to be more careful for now on.

Which affordable headphones do you guys recommend for protecting hearing? Do hearing doctors recommend any specifically?

Also, I use the Sansa Clip. How can I determine how low to keep the volume to prevent hearing damage? I can't find out how many decibels 100% volume equals out to.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by enarchay

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I use an MP3 player when I go to the gym, and I often find myself turning up the volume to drown out outside noises (such as the radio I don't want to listen to). I've read that MP3 players can cause permanent hearing damage at high enough levels, so I want to be more careful for now on.

Which affordable headphones do you guys recommend for protecting hearing? Do hearing doctors recommend any specifically?

Also, I use the Sansa Clip. How can I determine how low to keep the volume to prevent hearing damage? I can't find out how many decibels 100% volume equals out to.

Thanks.

I think the suggested amount is %60 of total volume no more than 60 minutes (or 30?) per day? Not sure. Anything in-ear is better than normal headphones, if you want to spend $$ look for noise canceling ones.

I've been happy with the sony earbuds which fit snug in your ear canal, they do block out more ambient noise (and bad gym music).

Sound isn't stunning, but it does the job for the gym. The do crap out with heavy sweat but they fix themselves if you leave them in the sunlight for a few days.

on amazon: Sony MDREX38iP/BLK EX Earbud (i have an older version, this looks close enough)

I can set my Nano to limit the maximum volume. I definitely noticed ringing in my ears with the default settings so now my player can only go to 70% of maximum.
SkullCandy makes decent in ear buds for around $20

I'm afraid of this happening to me too. I love the colors on SkullCandy headphones and earphones.

I have a pair of these Philips in-ears.

I have a Zune HD, and with the volume turned up to 12 or 14, they block out pretty much any other noise, especially when listening to hardcore. In general, I'd say that in-ears are pretty good for working out, as other types tend to fall out easier.

Originally Posted by GanglandDandy

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I'm afraid of this happening to me too. I love the colors on SkullCandy headphones and earphones.
+1 for Skullcandy They are pretty cheap and they cancel out ambient noises very well. At 20$, you can't go wrong. http://www.amazon.com/Skullcandy-Ear...6512250&sr=8-2 If you feel like spending about 50-60$, go to best buy and ask a rep to sell you a pair of 100$ earphones at cost price, their discount is roughly 50% on headphones (usually - exclude Bose). Give him a tip and you should be in the clear.

I like my pair of "jbuds2". Very similar to whats been posted here. Great for blocking outside sounds.

what? WHAT WAS THAT?

I had KOSS spark plug, was great for blocking noise. They were cheap too.

Originally Posted by hamish5178

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I think the suggested amount is %60 of total volume no more than 60 minutes (or 30?) per day? Not sure. Anything in-ear is better than normal headphones, if you want to spend $$ look for noise canceling ones.

You can't base things off stuff like this. 60% is meaningless...it depends on your headphones and player. I have some pretty low impedance headphones that I don't use past the first one or two volume clicks on my laptop but there are other headphones that need a headphone amp since max volume on an ipod doesn't do them justice.
The bit about per day expsure is somewhat true though, you want to keep loud noise exposure to a daily minimum.

Remember: Hearing loss is permanent and cumulative. Little bits of damage build up over time and they don't go away. If your ears are left ringing, you have caused damage that will still be there when the ringing is gone (and it will keep building up until you are able to notice it).

The best rec I can suggest is to get noise cancelling/isolating headphones. I have a pair of those same jbuds J2 and they are great at blocking out ambient noise so that you can keep the absolute volume down. Basically you want earplugs with headphones built in...instead of drowning out the noise with damaging LOUDER noise, you can block the noise and then deliver your preferred music at a safe volume.

As a side note, I hate the douches on the bus with their headphones so damn loud I can clearly identify the music they are listening to...not only are they unaware that they will probably have serious hearing problems (remember, our parents didn't have ipods...there are no caution stories yet) but they are annoying me while I try to read. Bonus points if it us some thug-wannabee kid but you can hear him blasting Miley Cyrus (true story...and it was loud enough to hear it on a moving L train).

I think you'll be better off with just about any that seal your ear from the outside. I use some made by Shure for the gym. It allowed me to cut the level down a few notches and also drowns out all of the idiot-speak going on there.

Originally Posted by darnelled

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I think you'll be better off with just about any that seal your ear from the outside. I use some made by Shure for the gym. It allowed me to cut the level down a few notches and also drowns out all of the idiot-speak going on there.

+1 on Shure. I just recently purchased a pair and it works wonders in the gym

Best in-ears for under 100? My new gym is about 5x louder than my old smaller gym that closed down because of a) the louder music b) idiot high school kids dropping and banging weights c) all the idiot speak at once.

You could pick up a pair of shures for that...but I think I paid $13 for my jbuds J2 (they list at 79 but amazon has them for 18 now if you choose white...higher for other colors).

They are perfect for the gym and sound fine. They come with several sets of ear cups for different fits and I have found that they pop out of your ear without really hurting when you catch them on things (this can be an issue in gyms...)

For $100 you could get a pair of shure e-2 or e-3 depending on sale prices (don't pay list...) and while they are better, I am not sure they are worth it for the gym.