Doctor says iPods and MP3's can harm your hearing slowly but irreversibly

Tampa, Fla -  

While the study couldn't say for sure what brought on the increase in hearing loss, audiologist Susan Spirakis believes she knows.

“These kids are listening to music twice as long as you and I did. That's one thing. They also live in a world where they've got Gameboys with earphones. They've got iPods or MP3 players so the battery life on those is much longer," Spirakis said.

She said the loud music assaults the inner ear, and there are children who have worse hearing than the parents.

“If I hit you up close with a shot gun blast up front, that's a lot of damage. The further back not so much sound. It's the same way and what's happening is because these kids are using the ear buds all of that noise is going straight into their ears. None is dissipating," she continued.

While Margot's hearing test turned out okay, Spirakis warns the damage happens over time and you won't even realize its happening.

"The bad news is, if they have hearing loss its a done deal. Meaning it’s not reversible. The good news is that noise induced hearing loss is pretty much 100 percent preventable."

Ash said that there are built in features on the iPod itself that can be adjusted so your child can never get it too loud. The audiologist we interviewed said you've got kids that are walking around that have worse hearing than the parents.