Abstract

Headphones, gaming headsets and amplified entertainment make it easy to accumulate a high sound dose without noticing it. Hearing risk depends on sound level, duration and repeated exposure, together with individual susceptibility. This narrative review brings together evidence on recreational listening, contemporary prevention guidance and the Ayurvedic concept of Asatmyendriyartha Samyoga, or unsuitable interaction between the senses and their objects. Selected epidemiological and auditory studies, World Health Organization standards and a relevant passage from the Charaka Samhita were examined through targeted literature searches. Unsafe listening is common among young people, but estimates of populations at risk should not be read as counts of established hearing loss. Excessive sound can injure cochlear sensory and neural structures. Animal evidence of persistent synaptic damage after temporary threshold recovery is strong; its routine diagnosis in humans remains uncertain. Prevention should focus on measured sound dose, lower listening levels, shorter exposure, suitable hearing protection and safer devices and venues. The classical category of Atiyoga offers a possible way to explain excessive auditory exposure in culturally familiar language. It does not supply modern decibel limits or establish a biological explanation of cochlear injury. The proposed integration is therefore educational and requires evaluation. Future studies should test whether adding this framing to standard counselling improves objectively recorded listening behaviour, while preserving timely audiological assessment and established hearing-conservation advice.