Most of the world’s three billion gamers are playing games without adequate features enabling them to protect their hearing, health experts are warning.
As a result, people who play video games are twice as likely to lose their high-frequency hearing abilities as young people who don’t play, research shows.
Given the risk of hearing damage from playing video games often and loudly, the World Health Organization (WHO) is now calling for a new standard to be implemented for video games and consoles.
In a statement on World Hearing Day (March 3, 2025), WHO experts said gamers and e-sports players also have a significantly higher risk of developing tinnitus – a whistling, hissing or ringing noise that is perceived in the ear over a long period of time.
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A systematic review of numerous studies has shown that more than a billion young adults worldwide are at risk of hearing damage due to unsafe headphone use.
The WHO now recommends that manufacturers individually warn users of risks at a certain volume level.
In addition, headphones should have safety systems to reduce the volume when they are turned up too high.
Volume levels should be as user-friendly as possible, the WHO experts also say, calling on manufacturers to make it easier for gamers to turn down certain individual sounds within the game, such as sound effects like gunfire or car engine noises.
Game manufacturers should ensure that sounds that can trigger tinnitus are avoided, the WHO said.
The United Nations health agency called on game and device manufacturers, as well as governments, to implement the new standards. – dpa
