Danger of “online games” popular among young people… Long-time use of headphones can “dent the bones of your head!

With the spread of online games, playing games while talking with friends on LINE and other call applications has become popular among young people. A convenient item for this purpose is a headset that integrates headphones and a microphone.

In the midst of this trend, a rumor has been circulating on social networking sites that “spending a lot of time with a headset will make your head concave,” but is this true? Dr. N, a neurologist in Aichi Prefecture, explains based on medical evidence.

Basically, the growth of the human skull peaks from birth until the age of about three, and, like height, is considered to be completed around the age of 15. However, even after adulthood, chronic force can deform the shape by as much as 10%.”

This mechanism of growth is utilized in helmet therapy to correct the shape of babies’ heads, which has been increasing in recent years. Good results have been seen in correcting the shape of the skull up to the age of one, when the skull grows rapidly.

So is it not possible, then, that young people in their twenties or so, who continue to use headsets for long periods of time, could also have their skulls misshapen?

I think it is one of the possibilities, but my honest feeling is that it is not very credible.” It may look deformed in some photos or videos, but basically it is the subcutaneous tissue that is greatly affected by pressure, so it could be the subcutaneous tissue that appears concave.”

However, he said, it is quite possible that the effect is not due to the headset, but rather due to nutritional and postural issues.

If you are talking about deformity due to reduced bone density, caused not by headset use but by prolonged gaming and lack of sunlight exposure and an unbalanced nutritional diet, it could be possible. It could be because prolonged exposure to blue light, etc., and lack of vitamin D, vitamin B1B2, calcium, phosphorus, etc., could lead to diseases such as skull deformities.

But basically, it is at the level of wearing an ill-fitting mask for a long time and getting marks on your ears. Unless you have a very poor nutritional balance or low bone density, it won’t stay that way forever and will easily return to normal after a bath or massage.

Although it is unlikely that the headset will deform the skull, it may be important to take frequent breaks from the blue light and lifestyle.