Study says one billion young people could damage their hearing by using headphones

One billion young people worldwide could damage their hearing by listening to headphones, a new study says.

The World Health Organisation called on young people to be more careful about their listening habits.

It found that a quarter of young people had unsafe listening practices while using headphones with devices such as smartphones.

Lauren Dillard, an audiologist at the Medical University of South Carolina, says the best way for people to lessen their risk of hearing loss from headphones is to turn down the volume and listen for less time. "Unfortunately, people do really like very loud music," she says.

Headphone users should use settings to keep sound levels low, she advises.