Loud Volumes Can Harm Your Hearing

宁静

音樂可以使人愉悦、放松。 喜欢倾听音乐的你，使用多少分贝的声音呢？高音对人的听力可有损害哦，看看下面的建议吧。

Music can make us relax， so everyone likes listening to music. Do you often listen to music at loud volumes？ You should know that this habit is bad for your hearing. Over 1 billion young people are at risk of hearing loss，because of listening to loud noise for long periods of time. Listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes can harm your hearing.

The United Nations has standards for safe listening. ①It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 dB for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. The sound of a busy road is about 85 dB and the sound of a rock concert can be about 100 dB.

Loud noise is harmful to the inner ear. Most of us are born with about 16，000 hair cells in our inner ears. These cells notice sounds. ②However， listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die. This is what causes hearing loss. Once this happens， it’s hard to get your hearing back.

Some people might think that their music isn’t all that loud. But this can depend on where you are. ③For example， if you are in a noisy place like the subway， you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. Later， when you listen to it at the same volume in a quiet place， you might feel uncomfortable. The “safe level” for most sound is below 80 dB for up to 40 hours a week. A level of 80 dB is about equal to the noise of a subway.

Here is some advice on safe listening. Over-the-ear headphones are better than in-ear ones. They do a better job of stopping outside noise， so you can listen at a lower volume. Don’t listen to loud music on your headphones for a long time. Follow the 60：60 rule ： listen to music at 60 percent of your headphones’ maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.

难句解析：

①It is not safe to listen to sounds that are louder than 85 dB for eight hours or 100 dB for 15 minutes. 听85分贝以上的声音8小时或100分贝以上的声音15分钟就是不安全的。

②However， listening to loud noise for a long time can make these cells work too hard and cause some of them to die.

然而，长时间听太大声的噪音会使这些细胞工作过度，导致一些细胞死亡。

③For example， if you are in a noisy place like the subway， you might turn up your music too loud without realizing it. 例如，像在地铁这样嘈杂的地方，你可能会把音量开得很大却没有意识到。

紧跟练习：

1.Why are more than 1 billion young people at risk of hearing loss？

A.Because they like music very much.

B. Because there is something wrong with their ears.

C.Because they listen to loud noise for long periods of time.

2.What can listening to music or watching a TV show at loud volumes do？

A.Harm your sight.  B. Harm your hearing.       C. Harm your head.

3.The sound level of a busy road is about .

A. 80 dB             B. 85 dB                    C. 100 dB

4.Why can listening to loud music cause hearing problems？

A. Because it puts our brains under great pressure.

B. Because it can cause hair cells in the inner ear to die.

C. Because it prevents our ears from resting.

5.What can we get from the fourth paragraph？

A.People don’t always realize how loud their music is.

B. It’s reasonable to listen to loud music in some places.

C. People are likely to listen to music on the subway.

Key： 1-5 CBBBA