If you have ever cranked up the volume on your headphones before a gym session or taken a group fitness class where the bass was shaking the walls, a new study suggests it might be worth reconsidering how loud you really need that music to be. Researchers have found that exercising to quieter music does not meaningfully reduce how hard people push themselves during a workout, opening the door to a simple and practical change that could protect long-term hearing health without costing anything in terms of performance.
The study, led by scientists at the University of Southern California, analyzed data from 189 people attending group fitness classes at a gym in Los Angeles. Participants were divided between classes where the music was played at different volumes, and researchers surveyed them after each session to assess how hard they felt they had worked. The louder classes featured music at 91.4 decibels, while the quieter classes were set at 88.5 decibels. The findings, published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, showed that the perceived level of effort among participants in the quieter classes was not inferior to that reported by those in the louder ones.
“Reducing the volume of music in group fitness classes did not lead to a significant reduction in perceived exertion and may reduce the risk of noise-induced hearing loss,” the study authors wrote. That conclusion carries meaningful implications for gyms and fitness studios that routinely operate at volumes well above what health experts consider safe for prolonged exposure. The difference of just under three decibels between the two conditions in the study may sound modest, but given that decibels are measured on a logarithmic scale, even small numerical reductions translate to a meaningful reduction in sound intensity and thus in accumulated acoustic stress on the ears.
The British hearing charity RNID welcomed the findings and used them as an opportunity to reinforce the message that turning down the music in fitness settings is “a simple step” that people can take to protect their hearing. The organization has previously raised concerns about the noise levels commonly found in gyms and group exercise classes, noting that regular exposure to high volumes in these environments contributes to the broader public health problem of noise-induced hearing loss, which tends to develop gradually and often goes unnoticed until significant damage has already occurred.
Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most common and entirely preventable forms of hearing impairment worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that over a billion young people globally are at risk of hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices, with recreational noise being a major contributing factor alongside occupational exposure. Sound above 85 decibels is generally considered potentially harmful with prolonged or repeated exposure, and the levels measured in the louder fitness class in this study exceeded that threshold. Unlike sudden acoustic trauma, noise-induced hearing loss from regular exposure to moderately loud sound accumulates slowly and invisibly, which is part of what makes it so easy to overlook until the damage is done. The inner ear’s sensory hair cells, which convert sound vibrations into electrical signals the brain can interpret, do not regenerate once damaged, meaning the loss is typically permanent.
Do you pay attention to how loud the music is when you exercise, and would you be willing to turn it down based on this research? Share your thoughts in the comments.
