Facts...

Researchers say that using headphones distracts users from the task at hand, whether that means concentrating on the road and navigating traffic as a driver, or keeping an eye — and ear — out for hazards like trains and cars while walking.

Headphones also serve to isolate users from their environment, cocooning them so that they’re less aware of what’s going on around them. In the study, researchers found that in 29% of cases, victims who were hit by cars or trains apparently failed to hear the warning sounds of horns and sirens.

“The actual sensory deprivation that results from using headphones with electronic devices may be a unique problem in pedestrian incidents, where auditory cues can be more important than visual ones,” lead author Richard Lichenstein of the University of Maryland wrote in the paper.

 

Read more: http://healthland.time.com/2012/01/20/the-hazards-of-using-headphones-while-you-walk/#ixzz2Lwy29afP