1 in 5 U.S. teens going deaf from loud "music"

Earbuds may be blame for sharp rise in hearing loss since 1988:

Most of the hearing loss was "slight," defined as inability to hear at 16 to 24 decibels — or sounds such as a whisper or rustling leaves. A teenager with slight hearing loss might not be able to hear water dripping or his mother whispering "good night."
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Those with slight hearing loss "will hear all of the vowel sounds clearly, but might miss some of the consonant sounds" such as t, k and s, Curhan said.

"Although speech will be detectable, it might not be fully intelligible," he said.

While the researchers didn't single out iPods or any other device for blame, they found a significant increase in high-frequency hearing loss, which they said may indicate that noise caused the problems.
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Some young people turn their digital players up to levels that would exceed federal workplace exposure limits, said Fligor. In Fligor's own study of about 200 New York college students, more than half listened to music at 85 decibels or louder. That's about as loud as a hair dryer or a vacuum cleaner.

Habitual listening at those levels can turn microscopic hair cells in the inner ear into scar tissue, Fligor said.

I hate to say I told you so but I figured teens were going deaf ages ago when I went to see the first Lord of the Rings and had to stuff toilet paper in my ears because the sound in the movie theater was too loud. I haven't been to a movie theater since.