One billion teenagers and young adults around the world risk losing their hearing by listening to loud music. This is according to the World Health Organization. The U.N. agency is asking young people to turn down the volume to prevent irreversible （不可逆转的）damage to their hearing.
Few things get the blood pumping like good music. Many people believe louder is better if you are listening to rock and roll. But experiencing really loud music, even really good music, can have a serious effect on your hearing.
Dr. Shelley Chadha is a specialist on hearing damage for the World Health Organization. Dr. Chadha says that the cells we use to hear, called sensory cells, can be forever damaged by loud sounds that happen over a long period of time.
But what is an unsafe level of sound?
The WHO says there can be many kinds of unsafe levels of sound. It depends on how loud the sound is and how long you listen to it. Unsafe can mean noise levels of 85 decibels （分贝）for eight hours a day or 100 decibels for just 15 minutes. Dr. Chadha says when the power of sound increases by only three decibels, safe listening time goes down by half.
Dr. Chadha says there are simple measures to protect people from unsafe sound levels. A common sense suggestion is to turn down the volume on your personal audio devices. The WHO also advises young people to limit their use of such devices to less than one hour a day. It reminds people to use their technology to stay safe. Smart phone apps can help to monitor safe listening levels.
The U.N. agency estimates 360 million people suffer hearing loss linked to many causes, including noise, genetic conditions, infectious（传染性） diseases and aging. It notes half of all cases of hearing loss are avoidable.
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