About 20% of children have permanent hearing loss caused mostly by exposure to loud noise， according to the Hearing Health Foundation. Still， “l(fā)istening to music with earbuds is not a major cause of hearing loss，” says Dr Robert Dobie， a clinical professor of otolaryngology at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Instead， other common exposures to loud noise are much more likely to hurt childrens ears， he says. “A lot more kids lose hearing from recreational shooting or hunting than from loud music，” Dobie says. Thats not to say earbuds are always safe. Playing music loudly—especially to block out background noise—can damage hearing. If children hear ringing in their ears when they pull out their buds， or if the world sounds a little muffled， thats a sure sign they need to turn down the volume. But as long as the buds stay at a reasonable volume， Dobie says， “theres not much evidence that they offer any unique risks.”

聽(tīng)力健康基金會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，約有20%的兒童存在永久性聽(tīng)力喪失的問(wèn)題，而這主要是因?yàn)楸┞对谠胍舡h(huán)境下引起的。盡管如此，“戴著耳機(jī)聽(tīng)音樂(lè)并不是聽(tīng)力喪失的主要原因?！笔グ矕|尼奧得克薩斯大學(xué)健康科學(xué)中心耳鼻喉科的臨床教授羅伯特·多比說(shuō)。相反，他說(shuō)其他常見(jiàn)的噪音更容易傷害孩子的耳朵?！耙?yàn)閵蕵?lè)射擊或打獵喪失聽(tīng)力的孩子比因?yàn)榇舐暵?tīng)音樂(lè)喪失聽(tīng)力的孩子要多得多?！倍啾日f(shuō)道。但這并不是說(shuō)耳機(jī)就百分百安全了。大聲播放音樂(lè)——尤其是為了屏蔽環(huán)境噪音——會(huì)損害聽(tīng)力。如果孩子在取下耳機(jī)后出現(xiàn)耳鳴的情況，或覺(jué)得周圍環(huán)境的聲音聽(tīng)著有些模糊，就是明確的信號(hào)，表明需要調(diào)低音量了。但只要保持耳機(jī)的音量在合理的范圍，“沒(méi)有多少證據(jù)表明這樣會(huì)帶來(lái)任何特別嚴(yán)重的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。”多比表示。

Word Study

permanent /'p??rm?n?nt/ adj.永久的;永恒的

clinical /'kl?n?kl/ adj. 臨床的;冷淡的

recreational /'rekri'e???nl/ adj.娛樂(lè)的;消遣的

The town and its environments are inviting， with recreational attractions and art museums.

muffled /'m?fl/ adj.模糊不清的;沉悶的