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BEIJING: Exasperated parents and spouses have a new red flag to wave at kids or partners who spend endless hours playing video games.
Too much time glued to screens and battering controllers is linked to tinnitus and hearing loss, according to doctors and scientists in Australia, China, Switzerland and the US.
“Gamers often play at high-intensity sound levels and for several hours at a time,” the research team said, warning of possible “irreversible hearing loss and/or tinnitus – persistent ringing/buzzing in the ears.”
The research, covering data and studies taking in over 50,000 of the world’s estimated 3 billion gamers, was carried out by Medical University of South Carolina, Capital Medical University in Beijing, the Ear Science Institute Australia and the World Health Organisation and was published by BMJ Public Health in January.
While the team conceded there are gaps in the available evidence due to limited data, what they found “suggests that gaming may be a common source of unsafe listening, which could place many individuals worldwide at risk of permanent hearing loss and/or tinnitus.”
Worst-affected could be gamers who don headphones, which “can reach unsafe listening levels,” the analysts warned. This noise “could place some gamers at risk of sound-induced hearing loss.”
Research has led to concerns that video games cause addiction, sleeplessness and anti-social behaviour. But according to other assessments, gaming can also improve hand–eye coordination, memory and problem-solving skills. – dpa
