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Earbuds vs Over-Ears: Which One Is Silently Damaging Your Hearing?

Headphones are no longer an occasional accessory—they’re part of daily life. From early-morning podcasts to late-night playlists, our ears are spending more time under acoustic load than ever before. But a question keeps coming up in clinics, classrooms, and conversations around ear health: Are earbuds worse for your hearing than over-ear headphones? Let’s move beyond opinion and aesthetics. By looking at sound pressure levels , hygiene , and long-term listening behaviour , we can reach a clear, evidence-informed conclusion. 1. Sound Pressure Levels: Distance Matters More Than You Think The single most important factor in headphone-related hearing risk is the amount of sound energy that  reaches the inner ear . Earbuds (In-Ear Headphones) Sit millimetres from the eardrum Deliver sound directly into the ear canal Require lower absolute power , but often result in higher sound pressure at the cochlea Users tend to increase volume in noisy environments (commuting, g...

Thinking of having sinus surgery.....





ENDOSCOPIC SINUS SURGERY

WHY DO I NEED SINUS SURGERY?

Sinus surgery is needed if your sinus symptoms do not respond to medical treatment and lifestyle changes. It is important to understand that you may still need medical treatment in the form of irrigation with/ without steroid spray. You should discuss this in detail with your operating surgeon during your preop consultations.

WHAT ARE COMPLICATIONS OF SINUS SURGERY?

It is very important to discuss possible complications of surgery and how it impacts your quality of life and profession.

• Bleeding - Bleeding is a risk of any operation.  It is very common for small amounts of bleeding to come from the nose in the days following the operation.  Major bleeding is extremely uncommon and it is very rare for a transfusion to be required.

• Eye problems - The sinuses are very close to the wall of the eye socket.  Sometimes minor bleeding can occur into the eye socket and this is usually noticed as some bruising around the eye.  This usually gets better without any special treatment, although it is important that you do not blow your nose.  More serious bleeding into the eye socket sometimes can occur, however, this is very rare.  This can cause severe swelling of the eye and can even cause double vision or in very rare cases loss of sight.  If such a serious eye complication did occur you would be seen by an eye specialist and may require further operations.

• Spinal Fluid Leak - The sinuses are very close to the bone at the base of the brain.  All sinus operations carry a small risk of damage to this thin bone with leakage of fluid from around the brain into the nose, or other related injuries.  If this rare complication does happen you will have to stay in the hospital longer and may require another operation to stop the leak.  On very rare occasions infection has spread from the sinuses into the spinal fluid causing meningitis but this is extremely uncommon.  You can discuss this complication with your surgeon before the operation.

No change in symptoms or recurrent symptoms- This could be due to persistent inflammation or allergy or crusting. In some cases, this may need cleaning and some times revision surgery.

In general, complications are very rare. In a survey of all ENT surgeons who do this type of operation in England, minor eye complications happened in one in every five hundred operations and spinal fluid leaks happened in one case in every thousand operations, so the risks are small. If you are particularly worried you should ask your surgeon about his or her experience of these complications.

WHAT TO EXPECT IMMEDIATE POST OP?

Sinus surgery is done in general anesthetic ie you will be sleeping during the procedure. You are allowed to go home once you have fully recovered from anesthesia the same day.

You may feel blocked in the nose. This could be due to absorbable dressing or gel inside your nose, a plastic splint or dry blood and mucus. If you have a splint, it will be removed in one week time. You will be adviced to you use saline irrigation to clean your nose from inside along with medical spray.

Do not blow your nose to clear as it can lead to bleeding while nose tissues are still healing for the first few weeks.

Sinus surgery is not a painful procedure and taking regular pain relief tablets which we will give should control the pain. It is important to remember that everyone has a different pain threshold.

Depending on the extent of surgery you will need time off school and work for a few days to a couple of weeks. Avoid too many visitors at home as you can catch an infection from them. Avoid lifting weight and straining for the first two weeks.

It is advisable to sleep little sitting up or with extra pillows for the first few nights to reduce postoperative swelling.

If are taking any blood thinner or herbal tablets, discuss with your doctor when to stop and restart them.

POSTOPERATIVE FOLLOW UP APPOINTMENT?

Follow up visit and nasal douching are two very important components of good outcome after sinus surgery. Follow up after two-four weeks happens to clear splints, packing and suctioning the nose.

WHEN TO CONTACT HOSPITAL IN POSTOPERATIVE PERIOD?
- If you notice severe bleeding.
- If the headache is getting worse and not responding to painkillers.
- Eye disturbance.
- If you notice clear fluid from the nose.
- If you have a temperature.
- If start having neck stiffness.

Mr Gaurav Kumar 

Ear Nose Throat Specialist 

Book Online


https://entsurgeonclinic.co.uk/ 

Call 07494914140
email info@entsurgeonclinic.co.uk   


THIS IS FOR INFORMATION ONLY ALWAYS DISCUSS WITH YOUR SURGEON INDICATIONs, TREATMENT OPTIONS, COMPLICATIONS, AND POSSIBLE OUTCOME.

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