No doubt your mother has already told you to turn down those headphones, they’ll make you deaf. Well, in a way she’s been right all this time. The typical headphone listener will crank the volume to near its maximum, which is much louder than the 85dB “safe” levels for extended listening.

The fact is that listening to sounds for longer than two hours at levels above 85dB will cause hearing loss. That’s why dB Logic, a headphone manufacturer, has come out with head and earphones that will not allow the maximum volume to pass beyond this level.

The company does this though a technology it calls “Sound Pressure Limiting.” It reduces the decibel level to a safe level while maintaining a full sound without any distortion. dB Logic says this technology differs from other efforts to limit decibel levels, which instead choose to clip the sound wave.

In the demo shown to me, I did notice that the headphones did get up to a respectable level of volume even in the crowded noisy room I was in. While the headphones obviously allowed a lot of that ambient sound in, the earphones definitely performed better.

For those of you concerned with your hearing, this is a good solution — but for the headbangers among us, probably not. Either way, you now know that cranking up the volume is as bad as mother says. Both models will start shipping in November, with the headphones retailing for around $30, and the earbuds about $40.

 
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