Will your headphones kill you? Well, your chances are significantly increased if you’re a young male – which you probably are.
According to a new US study, the number of people who have suffered serious injury as a result of wearing headphones has tripled in the past six years.
Your mother has probably told you to “turn that racket down” at some stage, and in fairness to her, she’s right. Blaring music while wearing headphones is a recipe for disaster, according to this study.
Experts found a hefty increase in the number of injuries to people wearing headphones particularly among teens, men and young adults. The study cropped up in the journal called Injury Prevention where data was analysed from 2004 to 2011, reports today’s Irish Independent.
Between 2004 and 2011 a total of 116 cases of injury or death were recorded, mainly due to the person colliding with traffic. A total of 16 cases were recorded in 2004/2005 jumping to 47 in 2010/2011. Of the victims, 68 per cent were males, while 67 per cent were under the age of 30.
It was found that of the 116 collisions, 81 of them (70 per cent) resulted in death.
So why does wearing headphones increase your chances of getting injured… or worse? Well, according to other studies on the subject, wearing headphones can result in ‘inattentional blindness’, also known as perceptual blindness.
This results in your attention to external stimuli being reduced, such as not being able to hear a car coming from behind you.
So what’s the advice? Keep the tunes low lads – you’re not at a concert – and make sure to always check twice before doing your best Linford Christie impression across the road.
