Value Village ／ Health
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
On commuter trains in Japan's cities, most people are wearing earphones. The WHO warns that "about 1.1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of hearing loss", and loud music is the main cause. Noise-induced hearing loss does not come back once it has progressed, so it is worth knowing, in numbers, "at what volume, and for how many hours".
| Loudness | Example | Weekly limit (adults) |
|---|---|---|
| 80 dB | Beside a main road, a vacuum cleaner | 40 hours |
| 83 dB | — | 20 hours |
| 86 dB | Inside a moving train | 10 hours |
| 89 dB | — | 5 hours |
| 92 dB | — | 2.5 hours |
| 95 dB | An underground platform | 75 minutes |
| 100 dB | A live-music venue, earphones near maximum volume | 15 minutes |
| 110 dB | A car horn at close range | 1–2 minutes |
[Verify] Check the WHO/ITU standard values (80 dB, 40 hours) and the 1.1 billion estimate against WHO's "Make Listening Safe" material. Check the Japanese noise-level examples against Ministry of the Environment and railway operator material.
Noise-induced hearing loss builds up over time. Loud music in your youth shows up in your hearing in your 40s and 50s. Hair cells, once destroyed, do not return.
Once you are used to it, even loud sound feels "normal". Manage by the device's volume limit and by time, not by feel.
The reverse. Cutting surrounding noise lets you lower the volume for the same perceived sound, so the load on the ears falls. But because you cannot hear outside sounds, take care for safety when walking or cycling.
Bone conduction also delivers sound to the inner ear, so loud volume carries the same risk. The advantage of leaving the ears open is about safety, not hearing.
Ringing after loud sound is a sign the inner ear has been damaged. If it keeps happening, lower the volume; if it lasts several days, see an ear, nose and throat clinic (耳鼻咽喉科, jibi-inkōka). For sudden hearing loss, starting medical care within 1–2 weeks of onset is generally described as important.
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https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241515276
https://www.e-healthnet.mhlw.go.jp/information/hearing/
https://www.jibika.or.jp/owned/hp/disease/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
This article is not meant to diagnose or manage any specific medical condition. If you are worried about your health, see a doctor rather than relying on your own judgement.
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