Joel Kachappilly

Junior wears earbuds in the hallway.

The trend of wearing earbuds or headphones while walking through the school has quickly gained popularity throughout the school. Kids have even taken it as far as to keep them in during classes as well. However, with this rise of students wearing earbuds, there are many problems that arise with the increased use of these portable audio playing devices.

In terms of the negative affects that earbuds have on one’s physical health, there are multiple problems. If music is played too loudly through earbuds, the increased volume right in one’s ear is extremely harmful to students who blast their music through their earbuds. According to the website Kids Health, an MP3 player at 70% of its top volume is about 85 decibels. Turning the volume up and listening for long periods of time can put you in real danger of permanent hearing loss. Damage to the ear is irreversible and students are putting their hearing ability at risk every time they play music loudly through their earbuds.

Student’s physical health aren’t the only things affected by listening to music through their earbuds all the time. Their ability to perform and accomplish tasks productively goes down as well. According to a study from the Guardian, it made no difference if students revised listening to songs they liked or disliked. Both led to a reduction in their test performance.

However, these discoveries in the negative side effects of using earbuds and listening to music in school are not new. Yet students continue to use earbuds and headphones while walking the halls of the school. Kishore Vijaykumar, a junior, commented on the issue. “I think the reason people still do it is cause they don’t really care about the effects and they just think it makes them look cool.”

Teachers have also taken notice of the increased amount of students with earbuds in during school. Mr. Zahn, a social studies and sociology teacher, said, “It can definitely be frustrating to see kids listening to earbuds while I’m trying to teach, but I also think that at that the students are old enough to understand that they are responsible for their own education.” Teachers don’t appreciate the students listening to music when they are trying to teach. However, they won’t take from the rest of the class to address them.

Many students consider earbuds essentials to their school lives, and they don’t do anything at school without them. However, as much as they think the constant music helps them through their day and makes them look cool, they are at higher risk for hearing loss and lack of productivity. The earbuds that they love may be having a negative effect on their overall lives.