Recently we heard the shocking news about Rakesh Kumar Nagar (28-year-old Man), from Rajasthan who lost his life due to an earphone explosion. This is not the first time we have heard about such an incident, as previously there were reports about a beats headphone and even an Airpods explosion. Today we are here to talk about why the earphone blast happened in the first place? and what can you do to prevent such an incident from happening, and be safe?
Also, Read | 6 Ways to Improve Speaker or Earphone Sound Quality On Android
What’s the cause of the Rajasthan Incident?
According to the statement of the Local Police Officer in charge, ‘the man was alone in the room and was using his earphone plugged into the phone, while the phone was on charge.’ It seems like a normal thing people usually do, while traveling or when at home, so what caused the explosion?
As reported by TV9Marathi, ‘While Rakesh was using his earphones, the area experienced an electricity cut, and when the services were resumed, the voltage was very high’. As he was using a super cheap earphone sold at gas stations, or by hawkers, the earphones could not bear the sudden change in the power supply and exploded on the spot leaving Rakesh unconscious. When he was taken to the nearby hospital, Dr. L N Rundla, declared him dead due to a cardiac arrest.
Also, Read | How to Increase Earphone Sound on Your Android Smartphone
Do Earphhone Cause Damage to Us?
Several studies and experts have agreed that earphones do cause damage if used excessively or in a wrong manner. We have listed them below:
Hearing Loss
Using earphones or headphones at overly high volumes can cause damage to your eardrums and lead to hearing loss either temporarily or permanently. The cells in your ears lose their sensitivity from a high vibration. If this is prolonged, they will become less active, and hearing loss will follow. For ideal usage, you should keep the sound at 70dBA or 50% volume in the case of generic earphones.
Dizziness
Longer use of earphones or headphones at high volume can lead to increased pressure in the ear canal. This will make you feel dizzy.
Ear Infection
Using earphones blocks the flow of air, and if the ear tips are dirty, the formation of earwax can speed up, leading to an ear infection.
To prevent this, you should avoid sharing earphones as the same bacteria will transfer from your ear to the person with whom you share the earphones. Take long breaks from using your headphones. And when using them, ensure that they are properly cleaned.
Tinnitus
Listening to Loud noise can damage the hair cells in your cochlea causing a roaring or ringing noise in the ear or even head. This noise is tinnitus.
Hyperacusis
People suffering from Tinnitus are susceptible to become overly sensitive to a range of sounds, finding many noises unbearable and painfully loud. It’s Hyperacusis and doctors advise to not use earphones for longer than one hour per day.
Do Earphones or Headphones cause Cancer?
A very common question comes to mind: whether an earphone or headphone can cause cancer as they emit radiation? The simple answer to this is NO, a certified earphone or headphone doesn’t cause cancer to you, as there are the government bodies and councils, who have detailed the safety protocols every product has to go through, and if only the product pass through those tests then only it gets the certification.
As of the radiation emitted by them, according to exerts, doctors, and researchers the part of earphones that receives and transmits radio waves doesn’t sit inside the ear canal and remains outside. Ken Foster, Ph.D., a professor of bioengineering at the University of Pennsylvania, studying electromagnetic fields, states that the amount of radiation a Bluetooth earphone emits is about one-tenth compared to a mobile phone. In fact, he recommends using earphones to attend calls rather than a mobile phone. So, as I said earlier, there’s no potential risk of any cancer due to Bluetooth earphones usage.
Also, Read | Play Music In Earphones and Bluetooth Speaker On Realme Phones At Same Time
Things to Check before buying Earphone, Headphone, or any electronic Product
To prevent such incidents from happening again, these are the few things you should check before buying an earphone, headphone, or any other electric product.
- Don’t go for Cheap or Fake Alternatives – You should avoid buying cheap, or counterfeit products. As they use very cheap and low-quality materials, which can cause major loss, like in the case of Rakesh Kumar Nagar from Rajasthan.
- Check for the BIS mark – According to the rules and regulations, every electronic product need to go through a quality check test, and when they meet the quality standards they get a BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) marking. You should always look for that mark before buying any electronic item, and validate its authenticity.
A BIS certificate can be checked by visiting this link and typing in the Registration Number under Status of Licence.
- Buy from trusted portals only – You can physically see the product and check the BIS and other marks in case of offline shopping. But it is not possible to do so while shopping Online, in such a case make sure to buy any product from trusted and well-known platforms only like Flipkart, Amazon, etc. As they require the seller to fill in BIS information for the required products. As of now, both these platforms do not have any section displaying the BIS numbers for Products.
We have also made a detailed video about it on our Youtube Channel in Hindi, you can check it out here.
I hope all your doubts and questions in the back nerve of your brain, about the earphone blast, health concerns are clear now. If you still have any questions, then feel free to ask them in the comments down below, we’ll get back and try to answer them best to our knowledge.
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