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Can noise-cancelling headphones cause hearing problems?

降噪耳机会导致听力问题吗？

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Do you own a pair of noise-cancelling headphones?

你是否拥有一副降噪耳机？

Well, for some that do, they're wearing them for hours on end, and some audiologists are concerned this might have an impact on their sound-processing skills.

一些有降噪耳机的人会连续几个小时戴着它们，而部分听力学家担心这会影响他们处理声音的能力。

The theory goes that by blocking out everyday noises like car engines, the brain might struggle to then filter out what is just noise, and what is an important sound signal, making it harder to pick out those alerts or someone speaking directly to you.

有理论认为，在屏蔽诸如汽车引擎等日常噪音之后，大脑可能难以分辨哪些是噪音、哪些是重要的声音信号，使得人更难识别警报声或他人直接对自己说话的声音。

When someone has trouble identifying speech or understanding sounds, but their hearing level is normal, it could be what's known as an auditory processing disorder.

如果某人识别言语信息或理解声音有困难，但又具有正常的听力水平，那么这个人可能患有听觉处理障碍。

APD can be complex to diagnose.

APD（听觉处理障碍）的诊断十分复杂。

But treatments can help. For example, with apps that train you to pull out speech from background noise.

但有些治疗方法能帮助缓解这一症状。比如，有些应用程序能够训练你从背景噪音中提取言语信息。

Some audiologists say they're now seeing more referrals for people with difficulties processing sounds.

一些听力学家表示，他们现在会看更多因为处理声音有困难而转诊的病人。

And they're calling for more research looking into a possible link between APD and overuse of noise-cancelling headphones.

并且他们呼吁更多研究能够详细调查听觉处理障碍和过度使用降噪耳机之间的潜在联系。

Although these headphones have their benefits – helping to prevent high frequencies and loud noises from damaging your ears – could they have some unintended consequences too?

虽然降噪耳机有其好处，比如它能帮助你防止高频噪声或者大音量的噪音对你的耳朵造成伤害，但这类耳机是否也可能导致意外的后果呢？