Noise-Cancelling Headphones: A Double-Edged Sword for Hearing?

They are prized for making the daily trip more bearable and creating a barrier against the noise of daily life. But some specialists suspect that overusing the noise-cancelling headphones which constantly blocking out background noise may have unintended consequences.

Renee Almeida, an adult audiology clinical lead at Imperial College healthcare NHS trust, has seen an increase in adults coming to her clinic with hearing issues only for tests to suggest their hearing is fine. The problem is with their brain, not their ears. They might fail to locate where a sound is coming from, or struggle to follow a conversation on the train, in a bar or at a restaurant. The condition, known as auditory processing disorder, is often diagnosed in children, so the rise in adults with similar issues struck Almeida as odd. Almeida suspects prolonged headphone use, which limits the brain’s exposure to multiple sounds, might be responsible.

“Normally, our brains sort thousands of sounds and prioritize important ones,” Almeida explains. “But noise-cancelling headphones deliver only one sound source—music or podcasts—depriving the brain of practice in distinguishing speech from background noise.”

However, for Harvey Dillon, a professor of auditory science at the University of Manchester, Almeida’s idea is an assumption yet to be tested. “There is no research investigating the link between the use of noise-cancelling headphones and reduced auditory processing ability,” he says. He cautions that loud music can damage neurons (神经元) in the auditory system. “It may be that listening to loud music is the cause of the auditory processing problem, not the noise-cancelling feature,” he says. “If so, noise cancelling could be a good feature, as it allows one to listen to music without interference from background noise.”

While theories about headphone-related harm remain unproven, experts agree on one point: understanding how modern listening habits reshape auditory processing requires urgent scientific attention.

参考范文：

Some specialists suspect overusing noise-cancelling headphones may cause auditory processing disorder as they limit the brain’s sound exposure. Others say it’s unproven. Experts stress the need for scientific study.

本文是一篇说明文。文章探讨了降噪耳机可能对听觉处理能力产生的影响，专家对此持不同观点，并强调需要进一步科学研究。

(详解)

1. 要点摘录

①Noise-cancelling headphones are valued for blocking background noise, but overuse may lead to unintended consequences.

②Some adults exhibit hearing issues like sound localization difficulties, possibly due to prolonged headphone use limiting the brain’s exposure to multiple sounds.

③Another expert argues this theory lacks research evidence, suggesting loud music volume might be the real cause of auditory problems.

④Experts agree that scientific studies are urgently needed to understand how modern listening habits reshape auditory processing.

2. 缜密构思

将第1、2要点整合为降噪耳机的潜在危害，第3要点作为反驳观点，第4要点总结专家共识。

3. 遣词造句

Overuse of noise-cancelling headphones may impair auditory processing by limiting the brain’s exposure to diverse sounds, though this link remains unproven.

Experts urge researches to clarify how modern listening habits affect hearing.

(点睛)

(高分句型1) “Overuse of noise-cancelling headphones may impair auditory processing by limiting the brain’s exposure to diverse sounds, though this link remains unproven.” (通过by doing sth. 表方式，though引导让步从句，平衡地呈现争议。)

(高分句型2) “Experts urge researches to clarify how modern listening habits affect hearing.” (使用不定式结构作目的状语，how引导宾语从句，简洁强调科学研究的必要性。)