Many of us love listening to music, especially in loud volumes to help drown out the rest of the world and focus only on the music. While this may seem like a good way to relax, it may actually be causing serious harm to your hearing.

The problem with loud music is that it is no longer limited to only our bedrooms. It is everywhere; be it night clubs, restaurants, bars, and even in gyms that have spin cycling programs.

Why it is Unsafe

While spin cycling may be an effective way to burn calories and keep yourself fit, the noise levels that take place during these sessions rise way above 85 dB, which is considered unsafe for human hearing. On average, a spin cycling session involves music that is played at around 113dB, which is detrimental to hearing and may result in hearing loss over time.

The concept behind playing loud music is to pump up the adrenaline levels and get you to pedal faster. This can help in losing more calories quickly, but it can also result in losing your hearing.

A spin cycling session typically lasts anywhere between 45 minutes -1 hour, and at noise levels that reach 113dB for a full hour or so can cause permanent hearing damage. Even other forms of music during a gym session can cause hearing damage, if they are played at loud volumes. These include listening to your personal audio device using earphones at loud volumes. Even the ambience sounds of the constant whirring of treadmills and the clanging of weights can be harmful for your hearing over time.

How To Protect Your Hearing

You can take steps to protect your hearing while you work out. You can ask your instructor to reduce the volume during your spin cycling class. You can monitor how noisy the gym is by downloading an application on your smart phone that measures the amount of ambience sounds in decibels. If your instructor is not particularly cooperative, you can always carry your own set of earplugs to use during your workout session. Alternatively, you can use noise cancelling headphones to drown out the loud music and listen to your own personal music at lower, safer volumes.

Another tip to avoid damaging your hearing during workout sessions is to avoid going to the gym during peak hours when it is the noisiest. Taking care of your health also means taking care of your auditory health, so take good care of your ears while burning those calories at the gym.