There are plenty of objects you interact with every day that could pose a health risk, from processed meats to the microplastics that seem to be everywhere now. But a recent study points to something else as potentially hazardous to your health that isn’t necessarily associated with ill effects on your body — that is, unless you’ve turned the volume up too loudly. That’s right: your headphones could be responsible for health problems down the line.
That’s one of the big takeaways from a study with the ominous title “The Sound of Contamination: A Comprehensive Analysis of Endocrine Disruptors and Hazardous Additives in the Headphones,” released by the nonprofit organization Arnika earlier this year. The report looked at a total of 81 headphones available at retailers across Europe, as well as those available from certain popular online shops. Their findings? All of the headphones studied “contained hazardous substances, including bisphenols, phthalates, and flame retardants.”
What that translates to in terms of immediate impact is mixed. The study notes that these findings do not pose a threat to people using these headphones in the immediate future, but goes on to observe that repeated exposure to the substances mentioned above “pose a long-term risk to public health.”
“Daily use — especially during exercise when heat and sweat are present — accelerates this migration directly to the skin,” said Karolina Brabcová, an expert in toxic materials on staff at Arnika, in a statement. “Although there is no immediate health risk, long-term exposures, especially vulnerable groups like teenagers, are of great concern. There is no ‘safe’ level for endocrine disruptors that mimic our natural hormones.”
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The poodle-dog bush can irritate your skinIn response to the study, a number of retailers across Europe have taken headphones mentioned there off their shelves. At The Verge, Justine Calma reports that some of the headphones covered in the report — including products from the likes of Apple, JBL and Sennheiser — have been made unavailable by certain shops. The Verge reports that the headphones that have been made harder to obtain are the ones that showed the most adverse results in Arnika’s study.
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