Everywhere you go, you see it: the thin, white wires leading down people’s ears, and it is growing in popularity, but can it be dangerous?

The invasion of the Ipod and other similar personal listening devices, or PLDs, is offering consumers immensely crisp, clear, digital sound. This clarity is exactly what doctors are worried about because there is no distortion to tell you the volume is too loud like there is in analog personal listening devices, as in the Walkman from the 1980s.

Too many people are taking their hearing for granted, especially the younger crowd, ages 18-35. Some may not know this, but hearing damage is irreversible.

“There are two types of damage,” says Kim Webb, California Pacific Medical Center audiologist. “Permanent shift, and temporary shift.

“Permanent shift means complete and total hearing loss. Temporary shift is the type of hearing loss you might experience after a rock concert,” Webb said.

Experiencing some slight ringing, maybe pain, but definitely differences in the amount of hearing are some examples of temporary shift. Another example may be listening to a car stereo at a loud volume for an extended period of time. After parking the car to go shopping, you come back to the car and feel that the music is way too loud, that’s because with temporary shift our ears adjust to volume.

How loud is too loud? Sound is measured in decibels. Zero decibels is the softest sound the human ear can hear. Normal conversation is at about 40 to 60 decibels. A rock concert can be around and sometimes over 125 decibels, which is where pain starts to occur to some individuals.

“Hearing doesn’t have any pain receptors,” said Kathy Peck, co-founder of H.E.A.R (Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers), a non-profit hearing information source for musicians and music lovers. “By the time you reach the pain threshold, the damage has already been done.”

An obvious way to protect your hearing is not turning music up too loud, especially with earphones that go into the ear. More caution needs to be exercised with this style of earphone because there is nowhere for sound to escape, or bleed off as there is in regular headphones which rest outside the ear.

“PLD manufacture’s responsibility is to make a good, high-quality device,” Peck said. “People have to take responsibility for using it properly. It has to be used responsibly. That is why hearing education safety is key.”

A simple hearing education tip is resting your ears. Ears can get tired too, just like the rest of the human body.

“Taking a five minute break after 30 minutes of use is a good idea,” Peck said. “Five minutes may not seem like a long time but it does a lot for helping the ears recovery from loud sound exposure.”