Video gamers worldwide may be risking irreversible hearing loss and/or tinnitus—persistent ringing/buzzing in the ears—finds a systematic review of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Public Health.

What evidence there is suggests that the sound levels reported in studies of more than 50,000 people often near, or exceed, permissible safe limits, conclude the researchers.

And given the popularity of these games, greater public health efforts are needed to raise awareness of the potential risks, they urge.

While headphones, earbuds, and music venues have been recognized as sources of potentially unsafe sound levels, relatively little attention has been paid to the effects of video games, including e-sports, on hearing loss, say the researchers.

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[–] AlexisFR@jlai.lu 4 points 9 months ago (2 children)

If you don't notice it every time it's not tininitus just the normal background noise of the ears functioning.

[–] Pretzilla@lemmy.world 3 points 9 months ago

That's a fun way of thinking about it but nope. It's Tinnitus.

[–] Zangoose@lemmy.one 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Maybe a more mild case but nope, definitely still tinnitus.

I have sensitive hearing towards higher frequency sounds (10khz+) and I've always listened at pretty low volumes (like 10-20% on windows for most headphones, even less on my easier-to-drive earbuds). Unfortunately for me I still ended up getting tinnitus but it's only noticeable when I actively think about it or when I'm trying to sleep.

Seriously though, tinnitus is awful, it makes sleeping so much harder.

[–] AlexisFR@jlai.lu 2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I see, thanks for the information!

[–] remotelove@lemmy.ca 2 points 9 months ago

Well, its a pitch that never really stops and does overlap with some frequencies enough to be annoying.

It's not that I stop hearing it. It's just that I have had this for so long my brain comprehends it as "normal" and it doesn't hold my attention. Part of the psychology(?) is that I grew up around technology. Hearing PC fans or capacitor whine most of the time was normal for me as long as he pitch is steady. The pitch I hear is almost exactly like an old CRT, actually.