Noise-cancelling headphones ‘could be causing hearing problems in young people’

Prolonged use of noise-cancelling headphones could be linked to a rise in hearing problems, experts have warned.

Audiologists at five NHS trusts say they’ve seen a rise in the number of young people being referred to them.

Many of the patients were reportedly found to have normal hearing but difficulties processing sound.

One such condition is auditory processing disorder (APD), where the brain’s ability to distinguish sounds, such as spoken words, is impaired.

Symptoms can include difficulty understanding words spoken quickly or in a noisy place, and telling where a sound is coming from.

A 25-year-old admin worker from London recently diagnosed with APD told the BBC she experienced a change in her hearing after starting university.

”All the words sounded like gibberish when I was in the actual lecture, and I was trying to hear.

”Even though I can hear that there are noises going on, I can’t listen to where the noise is coming from.

I know it’s the person’s voice, I just can’t really compute it quick enough’.

Sophie says she was diagnosed by a private audiologist after her NHS hearing test came back normal.

The cause of her condition is not known, but her audiologist believes it could be down to her extensive use of noise-cancelling headphones, which she wears up to five hours a day.

Claire Benton, vice-president of the British Academy of Audiology, said the technology may allow the brain to ‘forget’ its everyday task of filtering out background noise.

”You have almost created this false environment by wearing those headphones of only listening to what you want to listen to. You are not having to work at it,’ she told the BBC.

‘Those more complex, high-level listening skills in your brain only really finish developing towards your late teens.

‘So, if you have only been wearing noise-cancelling headphones and been in this false world for your late teens then you are slightly delaying your ability to process speech and noise.’

It’s not known exactly how widespread APD is, although it’s estimated to affect between 2% and 7% of school-aged children.

How many adults are affected is even less clear, and the NHS offers limited care for it.

Only one NHS trust offers full APD treatment for people aged 16 and over and the waiting list is said to be around nine months long.

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