英语新闻｜警惕！超10亿年轻人听力或受损

英语新闻｜警惕！超10亿年轻人听力或受损

11月15日，由世界卫生组织（WHO）发起的一项研究显示，全世界约有10亿年轻人可能因戴耳机或参加环境嘈杂的娱乐活动面临听力受损的风险。

Around 1 billion young people worldwide could be at risk of hearing loss from listening to headphones or attending loud music venues, a large review of the available research led by the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated on Nov 15.

这项研究呼吁年轻人审视他们的听觉习惯，并敦促政府和制造商做更多工作来保护未来年轻一代的听力。

The study called on young people to be more careful about their listening habits, and urged governments and manufacturers to do more to protect future hearing.

相关文献发表在《英国医学杂志·全球卫生》（BMJ Global Health）上，它分析了过去20年里33项数据研究，涉及英语、西班牙语、法语和俄语，囊括1.9万多名年龄跨度在12-34岁的实验参与者。

The analysis published in the journal BMJ Global Health looked at data from 33 studies published in English, Spanish, French and Russian over the last two decades covering more than 19,000 participants aged between 12-34.

该研究发现，24%的年轻人在使用耳机和智能手机等设备时有不安全的聆听行为；48%的人进入娱乐场所（如音乐会或夜店）时暴露在了不安全的噪音指数中。

It found that 24 percent of the young people had unsafe listening practices while using headphones with devices such as smartphones. And 48 percent were found to have been exposed to unsafe noise levels at entertainment venues such as concerts or nightclubs.

综合这些发现，该研究估计有67万至13.5亿年轻人可能面临听力受损的风险。

Combining these findings, the study estimated that between 670,000 to 1.35 billion young people could be at risk of hearing loss.

该研究的第一作者、南卡罗来纳州医科大学的听力学家劳伦·迪拉德（Lauren Dillard）说，一些年轻人同时存在上述两个滥用听觉的习惯。

Some young people are probably at risk from both factors, said Lauren Dillard, an audiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina and the study's first author.

迪拉德说，暴露在过高音量的声音中会使耳朵的感觉细胞和结构疲劳。如果持续时间过长，它们可能会受到永久性损伤，导致听力丧失、耳鸣或两者兼有。

Exposure to sound at too high a volume can fatigue the sensory cells and structures in the ear, Dillard said. If that goes on for too long, they can become permanently damaged, resulting in hearing loss, tinnitus or both.

该研究称，人们使用耳机听音乐时通常会选择高达105分贝的音量，娱乐场所的音量通常在104至112分贝之间；而专家建议的成年人最高安全音量为80分贝，儿童是75分贝。

Plugged into a smartphone downloaded with MP3 audio files, listeners often choose volumes as high as 105 decibels, and venues often range from 104 to 112 decibels, the study said. But the maximum safe volume recommended by experts is 80 decibels for adults and 75 decibels for children.

迪拉德说，人们降低耳机听力损失风险的最好方法是调低音量并缩短收听时间，并建议耳机用户应该使用智能手机上的设置或应用程序来监测音量水平。

Dillard said the best way for people to lessen their risk of hearing loss from headphones is to turn down the volume and listen for shorter periods. And headphone users should use settings or apps on smartphones to monitor sound levels, Dillard advised.

迪拉德补充道，专家无法确定哪种耳机最安全，但她建议使用降噪耳机。在嘈杂的环境中，降噪耳机可以帮助避免“调大你的音乐以试图淹没所有的背景噪音”。

Experts cannot conclusively say which headphones are the safest for listening, Dillard said, but she did recommend using ones that reduce background noise. In loud environments, noise-canceling headphones can help avoid "cranking up your music to try to drown out all that background noise," she said.

她建议，在音乐会或夜店等喧闹场所中应该戴上耳塞，并补充说：“也许站在前面的扬声器旁很有趣，但长远来看这无益于你的身体健康。所有暴露在噪音环境里带来的恶果，会在你整个生命过程中逐渐累积，然后当你67岁时，就会知道这种伤害究竟有多大。”

Earplugs should be worn at loud events like concerts or nightclubs, she said, adding, "Maybe it's fun to be in the front by the speakers, but it's not a good idea for your long-term health. All of these behaviors, these exposures can compound over the course of your entire life, and then when you're 67 years old, it can have a pretty big impact," she said.

同时迪拉德呼吁各国政府遵守世卫组织关于听觉安全使用的指南，包括监测和限制公共娱乐场所的音量。她还敦促手机等移动终端制造商在音量过大时向听众发出警告，并设置家长锁功能，以限制儿童接触噪音。

Dillard called on governments to comply with WHO guidelines on safe listening, including making sure venues monitor and limit music levels. She also urged companies that make devices like phones to warn listeners when the volume is too loud, and to include parental locks to restrict children's exposure.

南非比勒陀利亚大学听力学教授斯瓦内普尔（De Wet Swanepoel）在一封电子邮件中说：“听觉是连接我们和我们所爱的人的感官。照顾好我们的听力是维系亲密关系、保持总体健康、获得幸福的关键。成年早期就应加强听力保护，这对避免年长后的听力损失至关重要。”

“Hearing is the sense that connects us to the people we love,” Swanepoel said in an email. “Taking care of our hearing is key to maintaining healthy relationship(s) and general health and well-being. Primary prevention in early adults is critical to avoid earlier onset and accelerated age-related hearing loss.”

Audiologist

英 [ˌɔːdiˈɒlədʒɪst]  美 [ˌɔːdiˈɑːlədʒɪst]

n. 听力学家

Tinnitus

英 [ˈtɪnɪtəs]  美 [ˈtɪnɪtəs]

n. 耳鸣

Decibel

英 [ˈdesɪbel]  美 [ˈdesəbel]

n. 分贝