You wear them at home. You wear them at work. You wear them out with your friends. You even wear them in class.

AirPods are more than a tool– they’ve become a lifestyle.

Since their initial release in 2016, AirPods have quickly become a cultural staple, especially for teenagers, since 72 percent of teenagers own them, a 2022 survey conducted by Piper Sandler Investment Bank said.

I cannot imagine the last time I walked around the halls or even sat in a class where I didn’t see anyone using AirPods, earbuds, or another type of personal audio device. Even I have found myself dependent on these Bluetooth devices; the days I forget my AirPods at home are always some of my worst days at school.

However, AirPods are particularly bad at the one thing they advertise most: blocking out background noise. AirPods barely block ambient noise, meaning that even at their highest volume, you can still hear your surroundings, a review by rtings.com reported.

This causes a higher preferred listening level, and when you’re already in a noisy environment, the increased decibels turn these personal listening devices into serious health hazards, with teenagers at the highest risk since they generally have the worst listening habits. Most AirPods and earbuds can reach levels of 129 decibels at their loudest, the same level as an average rock concert. Hearing damage can occur after only one hour and 15 minutes, the American Osteopathic Association said.

I like listening to my music on high levels, too. As an avid earbud user, I am definitely guilty of cranking music at its highest volumes, attempting to drown out the noise around me.

But recently, I have felt the impact of  hearing loss. I make my friends repeat themselves four times, whispers have become nearly unintelligible, and people are constantly asking me to quiet down, since I speak so loudly to compensate for the fact I’m not otherwise able to hear myself.

It’s likely that I’m not the only one feeling these effects, considering it’s nearly impossible to travel the halls during passing periods without noticing several kids, walking alone, silently dissociating into their isolated world of song.

In an age of widespread loneliness and separation, students with AirPods in are often seen as unapproachable, unsociable, and detached from the world around them.

Wearing AirPods, earbuds, and headphones leaves us caught in a limbo between connection to our own thoughts and emotions, and interactions with the outside world, which can be limited by earbud use, a 2022 Psychology Today article said.

AirPod use 60 minutes a day or less can have little impact on our hearing and overall emotional well-being, a Medical Associates of Northwest Arkansas article reported. However, constant AirPod use only serves to drive us away from one another and can drag us deeper into loneliness and depression, while simultaneously causing irreversible premature hearing damage.

The next time you’re out with friends, going for a walk, or trying to tune out in class, think twice before putting in your earbuds. The world around us can make beautiful music too.