Athletics: How To Run and Enjoy the Marathon - Chapter 8 Now Hear This: Just Say No To Headphones

(A Practical Guide To The 26.2-Mile Journey) By James Raia
Web site: www.byjamesraia.com  
E-mail: James@ByJamesRaia.com

Runner's Web Editor's Note:
We will be running one chapter of this book on the Runner's Web each week for the next 15 weeks.

Introduction
How to Run & Enjoy The Marathon, a series of 15 self-help and service-oriented articles about running marathons - the proper shoes to running etiquette - is written by James Raia, a journalist and veteran marathon and ultramarathon runner in Sacramento, Calif. A contributor to many newspapers, news services, magazines and internet sites, Raia began to run long distances in 1983, the same year in which he completed his first marathon, the California International Marathon, in 4 hours, 12 minutes and 30 seconds.
How To Run & Enjoy The Marathon is based on the author's more than 20 years of writing about the sport -- its nuances, its elite athletes and the running masses.
Since he began training for his first marathon, running has become an integral component of the author's lifestyle. Raia has completed nearly than 70 marathons and ultramarathons, including several 50 milers and double marathons. His fastest marathon, 3:07:42, was run in 1990. A two-time finisher of the Boston Marathon, Raia for the past several years has completed many of his marathons in the 3:45 range.
Raia, 48, has traveled to more than a dozen countries on assignment for myriad publications, Runner's World to Modern Maturity, The New York Times to USA Today. He also writes syndicated cycling and running columns, publishes two electronic newsletters, Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times, and is the author of The Tour Within The Tour de France, a travel/sports e-book about the prestigious cycling event. He lives in Sacramento, Calif., with Gretchen Gaither, a teacher and sculptor.

For additional information on his two free newsletters or his other e-book, visit the author's web site, www.byjamesraia.com or contact him via e-mail at RaiaRuns@aol.com.

Table Of Contents
1.Marathon No. 1: It's not all about pain
2. What Marathon? Plentiful choices abound
3. The Basics: Common sense for the masses
4. Marathoning For Dollars: Running is fitness on the cheap
5. Want To Finish: Join the club
6. Fleet Feet: If the shoe fits, wear it
7. Need Motivation? Take a break
8. Now Hear This: Just Say No To Headphones
9. Night Moves: Exercisers Need A Visible Presence
10. Women Marathoners: Running Safe Means Running Smart
11. Running vs. Walking: Marathoners Can Do Both
12. Runner's Creed: Share Thy Space
13. Marathon Time Limits: The race directors' dilemma
14. Marathon No. 1 (Revisited): Don't Forget The Little Things
15. Reference Guide: Where to Find Out More About The Marathon

This Issue - 8. Now Hear This: Just Say No To Headphones:

Sometimes even the most dedicated fitness enthusiasts have difficulty getting motivated for a workout. On these occasions, the music provided by portable headphones can provide a welcomed boost.

But the user must beware. Whether you're an avid runner, walker, aerobics participate or even ride a stationary bicycle, prolonged use of stereo headphones, particularly at high volumes, can cause hearing loss.

Hearing deficiencies, however, shouldn't be the only concern for stereo headphone users. The use of Walkman-type radio and cassette players also increases the chances of a potential accident with another athlete or an attack.

During a study conducted as a former associate professor of speech pathology and audiology at the University of Nevada-Reno, Richard Navarro reported listening to music at high volumes can double the risk of permanent hearing loss.

According to Navarro, hearing loud noises triggers a release of adrenaline in your body. The adrenaline rush causes a constriction of the blood supply to your ears and diverts it to the arms, legs and heart as part of the body's "fight-or-flight" response. Likewise, during aerobic exercise, blood is also diverted from the ears to the extremities - the parts of the body requiring nutrients.

And although either exercise or noise can restrict blood flow to the inner ear, together they cause quicker and more damaging results, including the loss of inner-ear hair cells or cilia that help transmit vibrations.

During his study, Navarro examined the effects of 51 varieties of Walkman-type stereos.

"At full volume, some of the units produced 131 decibels," he reports. "That's like standing next to a shotgun blast and it's just under the noise level produced by a jet engine."

At lower volumes, many stereo headphone units still generate noise volumes similar to those of a passing subway train or a chain saw.

For those unwilling to give up their headphones during exercise, Navarro suggests using personal stereos for no more than one hour per day at half volume.

Less expensive models are also recommended since expensive units have more fidelity and are more powerful. "One unit I bought for $15 was safe at two-thirds volume while most units costing $100 or more were not," explains Navarro.

Amy Counihan, a clinical audiologist in Duluth, Minn., says hearing loss caused by stereo headphones is not an immediate condition, but a problem that develops with prolonged use.

Early signs of potential hearing loss include ringing or buzzing in your ears or difficulty hearing speech in background noise, sometimes called "cocktail party noise or "cafeteria noise."

Additionally, failure to hear high frequencies such as a bird's song or a voice on the telephone are reasons for concern.

"It's like going to a loud concert and the next day hearing a ringing in your ears," says Counihan. "You think, 'it's not going to happen to me' because it's not a day-to-day thing. But it happens over a number of years. It's like going to the concert with a dollar in your pocket. When you come home you have 99 cents. The next time, you have 98 cents."

Counihan also warns improved technology has unfortunately enhanced the problem. "The music sounds so much better than you're used to hearing on a car radio or even at home," she says. "In fact, the sound is so much better than you're used, you turn up the volume. That's when the problems start."

If a person standing next to you can hear the music while your wearing headphones the volume is too high, according to Counihan.

Exercise enthusiasts who use stereo headphones for outdoor activities also greatly diminish their ability to hear outside noise sources.

A runner using headphones on a bike trail, for example, has little chance to hear an oncoming cyclist who may wish to pass. Without knowing the cyclist is present, a runner could suddenly change position on the trail, resulting in a collision. It's not a coincidence that many county ordinances now prohibit wearing headphones while riding a bicycle on public access trails and roads.

But perhaps the most foolhardy but common practice is the use of headphones by runners, particularly women, while training alone. A runner or cyclist simply has little chance to hear a possible attacker while wearing headphones.

Not surprisingly, the use of headphones is strongly discouraged by the Road Running Club of America (RRCA), the country's largest running association, and by many other fitness-oriented organizations.

© Copyright 2003, James Raia

Posted with the permission of James Raia.

Subscribe to James Raia's Endurance Sports News and Tour de France Times at: www.byjamesraia.com. They're free and spam-free.