I hate studies like these... Because you see, they know there's a problem and their solution is, "Oh, well, people should change their behaviour." Here's the inherent problem, one that the article fails to mention -- many people wear headphones to get away from noise. In essence, we're using one form of sound to replace another. I work in San Francisco. There's noise walking to and from work. I also ride a train to get into the city, another noisy environment. And yes, I have tinitus. I have for a long time. And, quite frankly, if I wore earplugs walking to and from work, I'd be in danger from a constantly shifting environment. I would have more trouble hearing cars approach and be in more danger of being hit by one. I think you can see that walking around with earplugs all day isn't a safe alternative. So, rather than standing around telling us how using headphones are bad, why don't scientists work on a way to help restore hearing, repair hair cells in the ear and attempt to cure what is rapidly becoming a common problem? Oh, of course... that would be using science to FIX things, not just point out that there's a problem. If we took money away from all of these damn "studies" and actually put it towards solving problems, this world would be a lot less fucked up.