Whether it’s your sister that’s come to stay and can’t face the train journey home without her music, or the colleague who asked to borrow them in the office to slyly watch videos of cats, it’s time to start saying NO to those headphone thieves.
And not just because you’re left in the lurch on your now-boring commute home.
Well experts have chimed in on the to-share-or-not-to-share debate, and it’s pretty obvious which side of the fence they sit on.
Speaking to Buzzfeed US, germ expert and Ph.D associate professor of environmental health at the University of Arizona, Kelly Reynolds, explains that sharing earphones can ‘double’ your risk of contracting an infection.
Despite the thought of other peoples wax making way into your ear (ew ew EW!) if you’ve ever suffered from an ear infection you’ll know it’s excruciating.
Breaking it all down, Kelly assures that having some wax in our ears is pretty normal, and actually beneficial to our day-to-day audio health, as it shows the body cleansing itself of germs and dead skin cells and so on. It also helps trap dirt and water entering the ear canal.
Where earphones pose a problem is they mess up this neat little system the body has put in place. Modern technology, ey?
As they go from your bag to your coat pocket to office desk, earphones pick up plentiful dirt and germs which you essential then place into your ears every day. Delightful.
Kelly explains:
“If wax coats or builds up on your earbuds, it can act as a layer to trap bacteria and prevent it from drying out so it can survive and grow.”
Yikes!
But it gets worse…
“Studies have shown that earbuds cause an 11-fold increase in bacteria in the ears.”
And worse, if you couldn’t figure out yourself just how gross sharing them is…
“But when you share headphones, you’re DOUBLING the microbial flora in your ears and introducing new bacteria,” says Kelly.
So, not only are we upping our risk of contracting an infection by using the little things ourselves, but handing them out willy-nilly isn't doing anyone any favours.
The latest podcast can wait.
Does this put you off using or sharing earphones?
Let us know on our Facebook or Twitter (@ClsoerOnline) page.
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