When I wrote my first best-selling book, Sound Health, in the early l980s, I felt it was essential to include a chapter on the physical apparatus of our sense of hearing. I reported on what audiologists were even then describing as “an epidemic of unheard of proportions” (pun intended). Researchers were finding that incoming college freshman had the hearing loss heretofore associated with men over sixty. We’ve probably all encountered some of them, as they set the volume way too loud in movies and restaurants to compensate for their own hearing loss.

     Flash forward to 2006. A veritable flood of articles have recently been published concerning the alarming increase in hearing loss since the introduction and popularity of portable audio systems like iPods and MP3 players. An article in a local free newspaper, www.bohemian.com, by Sara Bir made the connection that the reason is twofold, and simple:

     People are listening to their systems, typically with internal earbuds, for much longer periods than ever before, and they’re listening louder. The combination is producing a generation of listeners—and our society—that will have to deal with the consequences.

     Here’s a simple way to decrease your risk while still enjoying your music. Invest in external headphones (you can get a good pair for under $30) and turn the volume down. Although there is some controversy over the relative destructive impact of loud stadium rock or rap concerts vs. headphone use, either way it’s a prescription for trouble.

     How do you know if you already have damaged your hearing? Get an audiology test. Some people notice a steady hissing sound, perhaps like rushing air or water. Sometimes it comes and goes; sometimes it just gets louder and softer.

     This is called tinnitus. There have been some breakthroughs in addressing this situation, which was traditionally considered to be irreversible. I’d love to hear from any of you who have had success in treating this condition.

     Before you read the next paragraph, why not just take a moment to take a deep breath, close your eyes, and listen ... really listen ... the world around you.

     How much would you miss if you couldn’t hear much of this? How angry might you be in the future if you knew that you yourself were responsible for this self-inflicted audio abuse and its consequences? As soon as the weather permits, go outside. Listen to the birds, the wind in the trees...the entire symphony of life. Bless your ears and your entire apparatus for hearing.

     Many of you may be aware of the great French physician, Dr. Alfred Tomatis. He demonstrated that the ear is also an electrical charging mechanism for the body. To learn more, there are several books and a growing number of ear-training centers around the world. You—or someone you know—might be very grateful in the years to come.

     Before we leave the topic, and segue into the larger perspective on the power of sound, which I’ll address next month, let me set the record straight about a rather serious error (or at least a major typo) that a colleague, Wayne Dyer, made in his recent bestseller Manifest Your Destiny. 

     He writes, in this otherwise extraordinary and highly recommended book, on the power of sound and mantra. On page 143, Wayne writes, “Every sound is a vibration made of waves oscillating at a particular frequency.” (So far, so good.) “The frequency range of the human ear is approximately sixteen thousand vibrations, up to roughly forty thousand vibrations per second.”

     Every textbook I’ve ever seen very clearly states that the upper range of normal human hearing is 20,000 cycles per second. In actuality, most people don’t hear much above 16,000 cycles per second (also called Hertz, Hz).

     And with high frequencies the first to be lost to audio abuse, even that figure may have to be adjusted downward. So if you see Wayne or his editor, you may wish to “set the record straight,” so to speak. At least this way, when you go for an audiology checkup (something I heartily recommend, at least once for every ten dental checkups), you won’t be feeling bad that you only hear half of what Dr. Dyer led you to expect.

     Until next time, keep some good music in your life (at appropriate volume levels), and stay tuned.

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© 2006 by Steven Halpern. Steven Halpern is a leading authority on the healing powers of sound, and an award-winning recording artist. Visit him at www.stevenhalpern.com to hear samples of his healing Inner Peace music, or call l-800-909-0707 for a free catalog. His first two DVDs, Chakra Healing Meditations and Inner are now available, exclusively from www.stevenhalpern.com or call l-800-909-0707 to order.

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