Teens Go to Great Lengths to Legitimize Ignoring Their Parents

"Huh?"

Listen up:  A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that the proportion of teens in the United States with slight hearing loss has increased 30% in the last 15 years, and the number with more noticeable hearing loss has increased 77%.

The suspected primary cause of this trend?  Earbuds.

Uh-oh (writes Candy as she turns off Ludacris and removes the iPhone from her ears).

One in every five teens now has at least a slight hearing loss, which can affect learning, speech perception, social skills development and self-image — as well as really important things, such as the ability to hear low-talkers like Alex McCord on The Real Housewives of New York.

Meanwhile, one in every twenty teens has a more severe loss.

On the bright side, teens now have a valid reason for not listening to their parents.