Emily Brown
If you're into gaming, spending five hours a day on the latest release might not sound like that big of a deal.
But one gamer from the UK has issued a warning about the 'permanent damage' that can come with such a habit after he fell unconscious and was rushed to hospital one day after years of gaming with his headphones on.
Avik Banerjee, a university lecturer, gamed five to six hours a day, every day for 15 years with titles like Call of Duty and Fortnite. He was such an avid gamer that he even managed to come first in a global COD tournament that won him a payout of $44,000 - but his passion ultimately came at a price.
While gaming, Avik would turn the volume on his headphones as loud as they would go, presumably to fully immerse himself in the process.
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He knew it was louder than necessary, but Avik claimed he wasn't aware of any warnings when he first started gaming with his headphones.
Unfortunately, it wasn't until many years had already passed that Avik learned the consequences of his actions, when he started having dizzy spells and one day fell to the floor unconscious after heading home from work.
Luckily some neighbors spotted Avik and were able to call an ambulance to take him to hospital, where he learned he'd suffered damage in his ears which has affected his in-ear balance.
After gaming for years with his headphones at such a loud volume, he learned that his 'long-distance hearing [had] completely gone'.
"If there’s a loud sound, or music in the distance, I can’t hear it," he said.
"I’ve been told by doctors I might need hearing aids if it gets worse - I even have to go for hospital check-ups every two months to monitor my balance. People need to know the permanent damage computer games can cause.”
Avik spoke out as a survey from Specsavers found that 51 percent of people who wear gaming headsets will set the volume too loud, prompting after-effects including ringing or buzzing sounds, increased sensitivity to normal sounds, and soreness on the ears.
Kate Johnson, AuD, CCC-A, an audiologist at University of Utah Health, has explained that hearing damage can come from 'a combination of volume and duration'.
“The louder the sound, the shorter the amount of time you can be exposed before damage will happen," she explained.
Referred to by those in the medical field at noise-induced hearing loss, the issue is the second most common type of sensorineural hearing loss.
Medical News Today reports that people using headphones in an already noisy environment are at a 4.5-fold higher risk of hearing loss.
To avoid the complications that can come with blasting your headphones, audiologists cited by the University of Utah Health recommend keeping the audio levels at or below 60 percent of the maximum volume.