The reason you should not lend headphones to others

When you share your headphones, have you ever thought about the bacteria that can fill it?

Have you ever lent your headset to someone else, or vice versa? If so, what you share is not only the sound quality of the headset, but also the bacteria that adhere to it. Using the same headphones is no different than sharing . swabbing ear.

Even if you don't put the headphones inward, such as earwax, the earwax can still stick to the headset, and stick to someone else's ears when you share the headphones.

Sharing headphones is very romantic, but can cause you to spread other people's bacteria.(Photo: Backgrid) .

To know the potential risks when sharing headphones, Business Insider experimented with 22 pairs of headphones to find out what could be hidden inside them. Things stuck on the headphones were sampled and taken to Columbia University's microbiology laboratory for testing.

'Your ear is a warm, dark, warm place. So it's a perfect place to grow. If you put bacteria or fungi inside your ears, the bacteria can grow thanks to the ear's own structure , 'said Dr Sujana Chandrasekhar, a specialist in ear, nose and throat.

After putting the bacteria on the bacterial culture plates for 3 days, the lab recorded surprising results. There are no scary bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or human E. coli bacteria, as the result of the laboratory found on many smartphones in 2017.

Bacteria in the ear can develop into fungi or bacilli in the soil.(Photo: Business Insider).

Instead, the most frightening thing they find is bacillus (Bacillus) , which can be found in soil. In addition, the bacteria found are staphylococci that can appear on the skin. In other words, the test results show that ear wax is only 'dirty' just like human skin.

'I was quite shocked to see that the result was nothing super dirty and scary. Everyone has the bacteria on their skin, and what they get is mostly these bacteria, 'said Susan Whittier, director of Columbia University's microbiology laboratory.

'However, I certainly will not share my headphones with others, although these results show that we really do not find anything out of the ordinary. Although it is normal bacteria, I still want to keep my bacteria for myself, ' Ms. Whittier added.

However, some samples also produce fungi, which can cause an ear infection. Therefore, you should still clean the headset before sharing it with others.