Headphones Can Be Hazardous To Your Health

Posted on May 02, 2012

Using headphones while you walk may be a great way to distract yourself from the length of the journey - and from the car that's about to run you down.

Headphones can insulate listeners in a sensory cocoon, making them oblivious to hazards like traffic or warning sirens and horns. Also, audio players can distract users' attention with their dials or other functions.

During the past five years, the rate of headphone-related injuries tripled. Over 80 American pedestrians wearing headphones died in accidents involving cars or trains they neither heard nor saw coming.