A Harley Street GP has warned that young people are risking permanent hearing damage by wearing in-ear headphones such as AirPods for up to 12 hours daily, with some even sleeping with them in. Dr Lavan Varathan, medical director of Gogodoc, said hearing in Generation Z is declining more rapidly than any previous generation due to prolonged use of personal listening devices.
Dr Varathan reported that one in five Gen-Z patients at his surgery show early indicators of hearing deterioration, typically two decades earlier than expected. Routine health assessments increasingly uncover high-frequency hearing loss in younger adults, which he attributes to wearing earbuds while commuting, working, exercising, walking and sleeping, often at excessive volumes.
He explained that naturally, people lose high-frequency hearing around age 50, but younger generations are experiencing this 10 to 20 years earlier. Dr Varathan said: 'You wake up. AirPods in. Commute, work, gym, walking, even sleep - AirPods never come out. Gen Z wears earbuds 8-12 hours daily, and their hearing is deteriorating faster than any generation in history.'
Research by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People found that 58 per cent of Gen Z have suffered hearing loss, tinnitus or both following music exposure. Dr Varathan noted that noise above 85 decibels can harm hearing, but even quieter sounds over lengthy periods can lead to wax accumulation, ear infections and tinnitus. He added that between 15 and 20 per cent of patients at his clinic demonstrate early high-frequency loss, often without noticing it themselves.
Dr Varathan highlighted that tiny hair cells in the inner ear, called cilia, detect sound vibrations but cannot regenerate if damaged. He also raised hygiene concerns, advising users to clean earbuds at least once a week to prevent wax buildup and infection. He recommends the '60/60 rule' - listening at no more than 60 per cent volume for no longer than 60 minutes at a time, followed by a break, and using noise-cancelling headphones to reduce the need for high volumes.
