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By Jennifer Graham, March 28, 2016The lead singer of the Australian band AC/DC says it’s auto racing, not rock music that has brought him to the brink of deafness. But Brian Johnson’s recent withdrawal from a North American tour provides a cautionary tale for anyone who likes their music loud, hearing specialists say.
The singer has been diagnosed with noise-induced hearing loss, a condition the World Health Organization says threatens up to half of the world’s teens. The WHO said last year that hearing can be damaged in as little as 15 minutes when people are exposed to loud sound, and that chronic use of headphones and earbuds put adolescents and young adults at extreme risk of future hearing loss.
For parents, whose own hearing may be compromised from AC/DC concerts back in the 1980s, this presents a challenge: How to regulate their children’s listening habits when there is no clear way to know how loud is too loud.
Related: Hearing Loss Association of America Convention, June 23-26. There's no cost to visit the Exhibit Hall to learn about cutting-edge technology and services.