Music is one of life’s ultimate pleasures, and it has been with us for as long as we can collectively remember. In today’s day and age, portable media players have become popular and ingrained into our daily lives. So much so, it’s hard to imagine life without them. MP3 players can act as a companion and keep distractions out when you are on the subway, or they are used to keep you in the “flow” while working out. However, MP3 players can be harmful to our ears, especially because the user often wears them for an extended period.

You only have one set of ears, so you need to cherish and take care of them. MP3 players can slowly cause hearing loss, so it is vital that you tone it down and follow these MP3 ear safety tips.

• Many personal music players have a ‘volume limiter’ available in the settings. If your MP3 player has this feature, use it and set a limit.

• To help keep your ears healthy and safe, it is recommended that you maintain the volume below 85dB on your MP3 player.

• If you are listening to music for an extended period, make sure to give your ears a break. Give your ears a break for at least 10 minutes for every hour you are listening to music.

• Try to follow the 60/60 rule. The 60/60 rule means you never turn up the volume past 60% and only listen to music for up to 60 minutes at a time.

• Invest in a pair of high-quality ear buds or headphones. If you buy a good pair of sound isolating or noise canceling headphones, you will be less likely to turn up the volume to drown out the noise around you.

• Don’t fall asleep with headphones on your head. While listening to music may help you sleep, falling asleep with headphones on can increase your chances of permanently damaging your ears.

• Choose headphones over ear buds. Ear buds go directly into your ear, whereas standard headphones can place the sound further away from your inner ear. This extra space does help limit the amount of stain you put on your ears from listening to direct noise.