# How long should headphones last?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [March 5, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151 "2003-03-05T02:32:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151/1 "2003-03-05T02:32:53Z")
I usually buy a new pair of Sony headphones every 5 or 6 months. I usually just use them to listen music or news on my computer an hour or two a day. Eventually one side’s speaker will start to “buzz” a bit and then go silent, and I get another pair.
Are headphones supposed to be this disposable? I play music a little too loud, but not at full volume. If they should last for a few years, I am probably just blasting my eardrums to hell…
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2003, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151/2 "2003-03-05T02:44:54Z")
Probably quite a bit of overdriving going on. Most people tend to listen to music through headphones at far too high a level for hearing safety. Your ears tend to adjust to a slightly uncomfortable volume level, so you tend to to increase the level to compensate. You shouldn’t do that. Set the level to a comfortable listening level, and _leave it there_. It doesn’t take much to damage hearing.
> [@](#):
>
> Although our ears are designed with a protective reflex, it is very limited. The inner ear muscles tense up, reducing sensitivity by 20 decibels (dB), providing maximum protection with sounds ranging between 100-120 dB.
From [this site.](http://www.music-injury.com/html/hearing.html)
> [@](#):
>
> Although it may not feel painful, experts agree that permanent hearing damage begins to occur after continued exposure beyond 85 dB.
From [this site.](http://www.kidsearsaver.com/loud.html)
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### Author:  [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151/3 "2003-03-05T02:48:37Z")
Oh, and I forgot to make it clear that, yes, overdriving headphones will shorten their life span, which I’ve found from experience to be between 1-2 years for mid-priced units and less than a year for cheaper ones, given normal wear and tear.
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### Author:  [@DreadCthulhu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DreadCthulhu)
#### Post date: [March 5, 2003, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-should-headphones-last/159151/4 "2003-03-05T02:52:13Z")
Mine normally last 6 months or so too, but I always get cheap ones.