July 25, (THEWILL) – Walking on a busy road with earphones turned on can be quite dangerous. The number of people, whose lives are endangered by earphones, investigation shows, have increased in recent times.
Earphones and similar gadgets, no doubt, have been elevated to the level of a fad nowadays and walking on major roads have become a cultural habit amongst Nigerian youths. Many lives have been lost to road accidents and domestic accidents triggered by the use of such gadgets, while others have been kidnapped sustained severe injuries.
In September 2020, for instance, a female corps member reportedly was knocked down by a speeding train in Ikeja, Lagos. The tragic incident occurred right in the presence of passersby. Eye witness accounts claimed that the corps member was walking down the railway line, oblivious of the approaching train and calls from other pedestrians to get out of the way.
The young woman had been unable to hear the sound of the train’s horn honking desperately because her ears were already stuffed with a pair of earphones. Although shouts rang out from different directions, she was already deaf to the bedlam around her.
When she was a few inches to the rail line, some desperate onlookers, in a last-ditch attempted to save her from certain death, tried to physically drag her to safety. Instead she ran away, to the chagrin of all. The passing train, which had at this time slowed down because it was going to make a stop at the Ikeja train station, hit her and flung her off the rail tracks.
Although the corps member was still breathing when passersby rushed to her, her right leg and left arm were already mangled and she sustained serious injuries on her blood-soaked face. She was rushed to a nearby hospital. But it was too late, she died.
There have been similar incidents across Nigeria, all of which are pointers to the danger posed by earphones to human lives. For example, a 23-year-old final year student, Fisayo Ajibade’s world almost came tumbling down due to unguided use of earphones.
In an interview with THEWILL, he disclosed that he once had a close shave with death in a road accident, no thanks to a pair of earphones he had on while driving.
Ajibade confessed that since the incident he has kept a safe distance from earphones and now speaks against their use.
Another victim named Nonso Chikodi narrated her experience to THEWILL. Chikodi, who was an addicted user of head phones had them in her ears one fateful Thursday when the building where she lived suddenly caught fire. All the other tenants were evacuating the premises except Chikodi whose ears were stuffed and who was in the dark about what was happening around.
She did not hear the shouts and cries of her neighbours until it almost became too late. The fire got to her apartment and for a while, she was unable to find her way out. Eventually, she did but not without severe burns whose scars are visible on her body to date.
Also, Mr and Mrs Ekene, in another interview with TheWill, expressed their displeasure for the constant use of earphones and headphones by their children. The couple recounted how one of their sons, Julius, over time developed a problem in his ears and after several tests, they were informed by a doctor that it was caused by constant exposure to loud noise over time.
According to Mrs Ekene, Julius’ ears were always releasing smelly fluid and they had to spend a lot of money on his treatment in a specialist hospital. That experience was what prompted the ban of that item in their home.
Similarly, Mrs Ronke lamented that her 17-year-old son, Jide, was once knocked down by a motorcycle due to his addiction to earplugs. Fortunately, he was rushed to a nearby hospital by some good samaritans and was treated.
Jide’s Mum also shared with TheWill that even with that experience, her son still sleeps, eats, goes to school and does everything with his plugs on.
Mr Femi Akinsanya, a father of two also shared a not so different experience. Akinsanya said he was made to stay outside the gate of his residence for more than two hours because his son wouldn’t hear him honking his car horn and his phone’s battery was flat. According to him, he was out until his wife came back and dialled he boy’s phone number. After that experience, Akinsanya said he employed the services of a gatekeeper and banned the use of earplugs in his house.
There are other harmful effects associated with the excessive use of earphones.
According to research, hearing loss and ear infection (persistent itching, ringing in the ear,(tinnitus), discharge (an oozing substance that keeps appearing), sound distortion, severe pain in the head and the feeling of stiffness or fullness in the ear canal), have been largely identified as the effects of excessive use of earplugs or headphones.
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