Doctors are now getting more patients complaining of pain, irritation and
infection in the ears as the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed working professionals
and students into the confines of the house, spending long hours using
headphones and earpods for the last seven to eight months, PTI reported.

“All these
complaints are directly linked to extensive use of headphones at higher
volume,” Dr Shrinivas Chavan, head of the ENT department at the
government-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai told PTI.

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The Ear, Nose and
Throat (ENT) department of JJ Hospital receives five to 10 people daily with
similar complaints, he said. Most of them use headphones for more than eight
hours, which puts a lot of stress on their ears. Unsterilised earpods could
also spread infection. Using headphones or earpods at a higher sound volume for
long hours is affecting the listening ability, he said.

He warned of the
underlying dangers of excessive use of headphones which could lead to permanent
ear damage.

The ear wax kills bacteria
naturally, thus preventing infection. Cleaning ears with cotton buds removes
this protective coating of wax, thereby making the inner part of the ear more
prone to bacterial infections. This leads to earaches, he said.

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He advised people to
keep removing earphones from time-to-time and allow fresh air to go enter the
ears and keep them safe.

Dr Rahul Kulkarni,
head of the ENT unit at St George Hospital said that ear problems are
consistently being noticed in working professionals as well as school children
attending online classes. “Ideally, school children should not be using
headphones at all. If they are attending classes on laptop or personal
computers, then the device volume is sufficient,” he said. Prolonged use
of earphones could cause hearing difficulties once normal schooling resumes.

He said people use
loud sound volume on headphones and are oblivious of the etiquettes to be
followed on phone calls, conference calls and video-conferences.

“If school-going
students are using headphones at the sound of more than 60 decibels, it will
naturally, put a strain on their hearing power,” he said. Attention should
be paid on the sound volume on which students are listening to lectures while
attending classes to avoid further complications.

Adults are also
complaining of ear irritation. Prolonged exposure to loud sound also affects
mental health, making people anxious and short-tempered.