Does Wearing Earphones for Only One Hour Increase Bacteria?
- Freepik/freepik
Jakarta – Using earphones has become a significant trend in recent days. These small, portable devices have revolutionized the way we consume audio content, priving a personalized and immersive experience.
Whether we're commuting, working out, or simply relaxing, earphones have become an important part of our daily lives.
Wearing earphones is not bad, but wearing it for more than 30 minutes is bad for the ears. When you put on earphone, you cover your ears from the natural air, which increases production of bacteria by 700% in only one hour.
Your ear drum naturally can not bear influx of bacteria in that quantity so it starts to react by paining or hearing loss in long term.
Illustrasi Mendengarkan Musik
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Secondly, when you are listening to fast music or high beat sound which goes direct to your brain due to headphones, it affects the fine tissue/membrane of the brain eventually listener becomes hyper or excited which is bad in long run.
But, the fact that there is no scientific evidence to suggest that wearing earphones for an hour increases the bacteria in the ear by 700 times.
The idea that wearing earphones can lead to a significant increase in bacteria in the ear is not supported by credible research.
Bacteria are naturally present in and around the ear, and their population can fluctuate for various reasons, such as changes in environmental conditions, hygiene practices, and individual factors.
However, the use of earphones is unlikely to cause such a dramatic increase in ear bacteria.
“Earphones or headphones will never cause an increase in bacteria in the ear unless you use one clean earbud. The bacteria rarely invade through the ear canal in a healthy individual because of natural barriers like thick skin over a bone canal and the presence of wax glands which adhere to all microorganisms," the ENT Specialist Dr Priyajeet Panigrahi, MBBS, DNB, and MNAMS confirmed, as quoted from THIP site, on Monday.
Ilustrasi mendengarkan musik.
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Moreover, a study published in the Online Journal of Health and Allied Sciences found that frequent and constant use of earphones increases bacterial growth in the ear and sharing of earphones might be a potential vector of commensals.
Also, people who wear in-ear headphones are at a higher risk of developing swimmer’s ear, which is an infection of the outer ear canal that is caused by bacteria or fungi when water stays in the ear canal for a long period of time.
Additionally, cheaper quality or improper use of earphones may give rise to abrasion, leading to breakage of the skin which might be a portal of infection.
So, while wearing earphones does not necessarily increase the amount of bacteria in your ears by 700 times, it is important to clean your earphones regularly and avoid wearing them for long periods of time.
Also, you should ask a doctor if you develop any ear pain or discomfort.
