Experts in the UK say an alarming number of young people are developing neurological issues potentially linked to the use of noise-cancelling headphones and earbuds.
Audiologists with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) say the number of young people referred for treatment has skyrocketed in recent months. While the demographic reportedly displays normal hearing, noise cancellation may be causing neurological problems, resulting in the brain having difficulty processing and differentiating sounds.
“There is a difference between hearing and listening. We can see that listening skills are suffering,” said Renee Almeida, an adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial College Healthcare NHS, per the Daily Mail.
Officially, the condition is known as auditory processing disorder (APD). It can result in difficulty following dialogue on TV since there are often accompanying sound effects or musical scores. Unfamiliar accents or fast talkers can also be difficult for people with APD to follow.
While it has long been thought to be related to childhood brain trauma, ear infections, or a faulty gene, experts now think devices like Apple AirPods could be to blame in certain instances.
Claire Benton, vice president of the British Academy of Audiology (BAA), told the BBC that since noise-cancelling features block out everyday sounds, like car horns, the brain may actually be forgetting to filter the noises out.
“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 said.
“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,” added Benton.
While the extent of the condition remains a mystery, some estimates place the number of children with the disorder as high as five percent globally. In some cases, the condition may be misdiagnosed as ADHD, which can present overlapping symptoms, like difficulty learning songs.