but her audiologist believes the overuse of noise-cancelling headphones, which Sophie wears for up to five hours a day, could have a part to play.
Me, wearing my noise-cancelling headphones for 10+ hours a day …
I have my noise cancelling airpods pro, but never use ANC because it has that white noise sound I don’t like. It’s basically blasting more noise in your earhole to drown out/cancel out the noise around you.
Yeah, ANC quality can vary a lot and generally it’s even worse for earbuds.
I have a pair of Bose QC Ultra headphones which have amazing ANC.
A few month back there was a constuction site across the street. At one point I felt my desk vibrating, so I took of my headphones … only then did I realised they were using a jackhammer.
Similar story here, Bose QC whilst the house next door was (basically) being demolished… I just found the headphones ate batteries faster.
I sometimes find I’m just working with the headphones on and whatever I was listening to had stopped ages ago.
by blocking everyday sounds such as cars beeping, there is a possibility the brain can “forget” to filter out the noise.
Also growing up in the quiet countryside, I can say that you do not “forget” to hear sounds like cars… it’s definitely the everyday background noise that’s the problem.
The cause of Sophie’s APD diagnosis is unknown, but her audiologist believes the overuse of noise-cancelling headphones, which Sophie wears for up to five hours a day, could have a part to play.
Other audiologists agree, saying more research is needed into the potential effects of their prolonged use.
That looks to me like, “audiologists have no bloody clue where this issue is coming from, and are therefore throwing shit at the wall in the hope that something will stick.”
Exactly.
Is she wearing high heels every day? Could be bullshit, but could be related. 🙄
This is not the same thing, as the other comment explains.
I really struggle to process voices, but I hear absolutely everything.
Someone talking to me can get completely drowned out by a 15KHz hum of an electronic device, the acoustics of a room or a TV in the background.
Yet, I ask them if they are having trouble hearing me over all the noise. They usually reply “wharlt noise?” If it’s a high-pitch hum, they won’t acknowledge the noise even if I show them on a spectral analyser.
If it’s a high-pitched hum, they may genuinely be unable to hear it. It’s common for people to lose their hearing in very high registers quickly as they age (like, most teens still hear them, but thirty-somethings mostly don’t). Without noticing, since it doesn’t impede day-to-day communication.
that’s how science works until you can actually test the hypotheses.
Studying sure. But this is openly speculating to the uninformed masses. Can earphones cause cancer? Unless you can prove they don’t, that is a hypothesis that could be tested. But more importantly, it’s slop for clickbait bullshit so your aunt can post that to Facebook and feel superior to all the dregs giving themselves cancer by wearing earphones. It’s useless.
According to this articles methods we know that noise cancelling headphones kill people, since everyone who uses them dies! (Eventually and yes /s)
eh, I don’t see a problem with this article specifically, and I don’t think your “cancer” hyperbole is helpful. If people feel like they are suffering from a similar listening/attention issue, there’s no real harm in trying to go without noise-cancelling for a while to see if the symptoms improve.
Sure, but it’s still pretty irresponsible of the BBC to publish what is effectively educated guesses as something to be concerned about.
This belongs in an academic article. Not a news one.
No it’s not. Experts in their field are seeing a strong correlation in behaviors that could harm your health. It’s the perfect place for an audiologist to speak to this issue.
We also had an expert who started the vacines cause autism trying to peddle a new replacement for the MMR vaccine. (This is my opinion based on the research done Here )Just because “an expert” says something, doesn’t mean it’s true. And blindly listening to them can cause harm as well.
This is a fallacy called Argument of authority
No, it’s completely irresponsible to say something not peer reviewed and actually studied.
There was never even a shred of proper science behind the autism causes vaccines thing, and it was a very very very very minority opinion.
Does gravity exist on Alpha Centrauri? Ask any physicist, they’re going to say “yes”. You’re then going to stand there, saying “we have not actually made the necessary experiments on Alpha Centauri itself, we do not have conclusive evidence, all those people are peddling pseudoscience”. Never mind that all that we know about physics leads us to the extrapolation that, yes, gravity exists there and we have no reason to think why there isn’t gravity there. Could that extrapolation be wrong? Yes. But it’s also a silly thing to insist onto working into the plans of a colonialisation spaceship. All you’re achieving with that is having it never be built, bogging shit down in unsubstantiated scepticism.
You are right there’s never been any credible evidence.
But I wasn’t claiming that.
I was claiming it was irresponsible to report on such an early finding in the media without proper verification and actual conclusive studies.
Almost like the BBC article here in question.
They’re reporting on what the audiologists observe and believe to be the case, and clearly label it as such: A belief, with further study necessary. People thinking they could be affected by this might take action after reading the article, true, and the action would be – easing off on using sound-cancelling headphones. That could, in the end, not help. What would be the harm done? Neither the science was misrepresented, it was portrayed as incomplete, “here’s our educated guess”, and the recommendations one can draw from that guess are quite inconceivable to cause harm themselves.
Have a look again at what the Hippocratic oath states: First, do no harm. They’re keeping to that. Ease off. You can tell a patient to try dialling back on their coffee consumption before having conclusive proof that that’s what’s causing their jitters: Less coffee won’t kill them.
And they also have a theoretical basis for their hypothesis. You don’t have to have 100% experimental proof about something to take initial action, especially to avoid harm.
Because that worked so well for
Dr.WakefieldNot at all the same thing. There was tons of evidence and theory that vaccines were safe, and the consequences of not using them were very high.
And yet that didn’t stop the ACTUAL harm it caused.
If a hypothesis is untestable, then it is a guess, and not scientific.
it’s not untestable, they just haven’t actually done it yet. In fact they say in the article research is needed.
Nope it’s a very reasonable hypothesis. “Symptom X suddenly occurs frequently. That started when people started doing Y. According to our understanding, Y has a direct impact on the functioning of X”. Causation has still to be established formally but it’d be quite surprising if it was mere correlation, as in it would overturn the understanding audiologists have about how things work.
Bluntly said: If you never train filtering out noise, then you suck at filtering out noise. That looks dead obvious, if it’s wrong, then in a very, very interesting way. General relativity vs. Newtonian mechanics kind of interesting.
The problem is not the hypothesis, the problem is that it isn’t really presented as a hypothesis. Reporting on the results before doing the experiment isn’t the way to go.
Our theories of how the world works are necessarily incomplete, and experiments turn up things that overturn scientific understanding often enough. The way this is set up matches a common pattern of vilifying tech without seeing whether it’s deserved or not. Maybe not wearing a noise cancellation headset would, in fact, help this patient, but until that’s tested and found out to be true, reporting on it is just spreading FUD.
her audiologist believes
(emphasis mine). Belief is colloquial speech for working hypothesis. Her prescription will have been along the lines of “ease on those headphones, go to a forest or park and just listen, use them only if you really feel them to be necessary, try to expose yourself”.
“Nothing can ever be acted upon unless we have a meta-study examining fifty double-blind studies” is pseudoscepticism.
Bad title. The article examines whether specifically noise-cancelling headphones may be involved in listening issues.
Oh boy I hope not, I love noise cancelation lol. I figure it’s gotta be better than upping the volume to override the noise around me.
I pretty much never go outside without headphones now. I haven’t noticed any problems with comprehending speech or sounds like described here. Sensory issues (as in being easily overwhelmed) were long gone before I got addicted to headphones. However, mother complains I am constantly speaking too loud without even recognizing it, and blames it on my hearing loss. However, I KNOW my hearing is good, because I can still hear a subtle shrill sound of a power supply on the other end of the room, even loudly enough to be bothered by it! I wonder if this could be because of headphones, that just feels peculiar.
Yeah that could be, if the headphones make you sound quieter to yourself.
Personally I have the opposite problem, when I wear earplugs out at a loud venue, I can hear myself better and end up talking too quietly.
I mean this happens in conversations, after some time has passed since I’ve worn headphones.
WHAT?
HUH?
OKAAAY
I actually got this and now I feel terribly old. Thanks…
So this could be boiled down to “use or lose it”. Idk, maybe this might be part of it. Maybe a part of the prevalence of short form media blah blah attention span.
I knew earphones made you lose your hearing faster but headphones causing issues too? Guess the only safe option are speakers :/
Next DIY project found!
Maybe try McDonald’s workers for further research, if it’s the constant and annoying beeping of machines. Or any Japanese store where you get 3 songs blaring at the same time from different aisles, then there’s some offering on a seperate stand, of course also blinking and begging for attention with additional sounds… I believe you can simulate 10 years of UK longterm exposure with a one day trip to Japan.
Did the boomboxes-next-to-heads and the walkmans of the '80s and discmans of the '90s not count? I think a lot of game boy users also used headhpones.
I actually didn’t use them that much at all, but I still have trouble hearing with background noise. Noise-cancelling headphones have actually been an amazing thing in my life because (a) it helps overstimulation and anxiety and (b) it actually helps me hear someone talking to me because it filters out the other stuff. I suspect my problems are a combination of mostly-neurological (ADHD and probably (though not officially) ASD) and maybe impacted by loud concerts and general aging-related stuff. I can still hear really high-pitched sounds and the like whereas many of my peers around my age and younger can’t as well, but it’s all mud to me when there’s a lot of sound.
this isn’t a hearing loss issue, the hypothesis is that noise-cancelling headphones specifically are causing our brains to not filter out random noises neurologically.
True. They also mention the person’s rural upbringing and then moving to the city. That mirrors my experience and my hearing issues pre-date using noise canceling headphones. I always had a rough time anywhere there were lots of people and noise, but it just wasn’t super common previously (I grew up in rural Ohio and have lived in some big US cities.followed by nearly a decade in Tokyo).
I have ADHD and sometimes can’t focus to do more brain intensive work if I’m in a room with a bunch of people talking. Street/background noise doesn’t bother me at all. I grew up suburb rural adjacent but I’ve worked in huge cities for long periods and it just doesn’t bother me like six people having two conversations would.
The woman in the article is also just a single example. They mention that this condition is on the rise in general.
As the world become more and more noisy. And people become more a more shitty with regards of doing noise without care about how it affects others. ANC become a necessity for some people.
‘Words sound like gibberish’
What? This article is confusing as hell.
I use mine a lot, but I don’t have problems telling where sounds are coming from or understanding what is being said.
Tbh this just sounds like ADHD or something.
“It doesn’t happen to me, so it must not be a real thing”
Tbh this just sounds like ADHD or something.
It’s APD (Auditory Processing Disorder). That’s explained in the article.
Guess I didn’t read that far 😅
Article literally starts off just describing my ADHD related auditory processing difficulties, which is interesting for their claims because I don’t often listen to music in the first place because of it.
The only thing I use my headphones for are podcasts and audio books that I have rewind because I forgot I was listening to something.
My knee jerk response as a result is that it’s probably just younger people being more comfortable admitting something is wrong and looking for an explanation from the wrong people. They note that it is prevalent in aneurotypical people but don’t seem to have questioned that maybe these people simply aren’t diagnosed properly.
It’s especially interesting that they chose a woman as the focus for the article, with women being demonstrably underdiagnosed in particular.
Yeah those first couple paragraphs were just “ADHD/autistic woman behaves like an ADHD/autistic woman. Time to blame her for using accommodation equipment!” (Not actually Dx’ing her, but I recognize a lot of my own patterns here).
Like for fuck’s sake let us have our small bits of sanity. Tuning out the constant hell that is everyday life is not a sin.
they did say she was able to pay attention just fine watching lecture videos with subtitles. Also she is just an example, they said this problem is on the rise in general.
Someone with ADHD can better focus when they get the info simultaneously as text and audio? Unbelievable! Plus it’s the most over and under diagnosed disorder at the same time. Under diagnosed within women particularly. It’s getting diagnosed better and more often, so it fits too.
I don’t say that she has it but most neurodiverse will see lot’s of checked boxes.
Someone with ADHD can better focus when they get the info simultaneously as text and audio? Unbelievable!
Or… maybe she really does have APD as her doctors says she does?
I don’t say that she has it but most neurodiverse will see lot’s of checked boxes.
…because APD has some similar symptoms to ADHD. yet there are many armchair psychiatrists in here diagnosing her with ADHD.
APD doesn’t have similarities with ADHD. ADHD can cause APD but APD like many other common symptoms is not in the official catalog of symptoms for ADHD. But it makes sense when you think of ADHD as “not being able to prioritize input” so all you hear is processed simultaneously.
I’m not saying the doctors are wrong. But they don’t know why she has it and I’m just saying that there may be a link that they’re not seeing because of years of wrong diagnosis criteria for ADHD and Autism. Hell until 2013 they told that it is impossible to have both and today we know that the overlap is somewhere between 30 and 50%.
APD doesn’t have similarities with ADHD. ADHD can cause APD but APD like many other common symptoms is not in the official catalog of symptoms for ADHD.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9493945/
“Central auditory processing disorder (CAPD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) present overlapping symptomatology.”
…podcasts and audio books that I have rewind because I forgot I was listening to something.
I sad chuckled because I am the same. On the other hand, I listen to glitchy electronic music with irregular patterns on my headphones in order to concentrate on a task. My brain tunes out the mayhem and focuses on the task at hand. Imagine a screen full of jumbled, ever changing imagery with a single fly crawling across it, but in sound. My brain will focus on the “fly” and blur out the rest because it makes no sense.
Listening to proper music has the opposite effect where it will immediately trigger my mental wanderings.
Could you share some examples of this type of music, please?
Aside from the obvious Aphex Twin tracks, here is an old one I always liked. It gets progressively more broken halfway through, which is is a good example of what I mean.
Not sure what Jo listens to but I recognized myself in his description.
You can lookup Sewerslvt (Mr.Kill Myself) for an exemple. I also listens to :
- Machine Girl (Try Krystle URL Cyberplace Mix)
- Goreshit (Try Fine Night or Black is the new black)
- Loffciamcore ( A little more hardcore than the others, try Eat Me)
I’m wondering if the cause and effect are the other way around, people that have trouble with noise (such as people with APD) might want noise cancelling headphones. The rise in cases of APD might indicate otherwise, but with the information provided, it sounds like it might be under-diagnosed anyway.
The first thing many people used to assume is that if you had any problems with listening, you might be somewhat deaf. APD and other difficulties listening definitely aren’t deafness, but I wonder if there is increased awareness of other reasons why someone might have difficulty understanding speech.
I am 29 and I already have minuscule hearing loss (if results of the last hearing test were factual), and I don’t really listen to music/podcasts on headphones that much either.
I am also one of these people who still has regular PC speakers instead of gaming headsets or whatever.
So wait, I’m not just a grumpy old man who doesn’t like a lot of noise, this is actually a disorder?
Honestly though it’s an interesting question and I wonder if this is just the “natural state.” I really started to feel it after I went RVing for a year. It’s a relatively recent (in the overall span of humanity) development that people would be in groups large enough to make this be an issue.
