Many new climbers at the beginning of their climbing journey start to ask some questions that for experience climbers are a bit weird, but if you think about it the question “Do people listen to music while climbing?” is very reasonable. There are some safety aspects of wearing headphones or earbuds, which should bother us while we are still inexperienced. But is it that unsafe to even think about? Let’s find out!
The two main things that we should think of are safety aspects and gym rules. There are some gyms that won’t let you climb with headphones on, due to their rules but they are in the minority. When it comes to the safety aspects, unfortunately, there are so real dangers of wearing headphones while climbing, so let’s talk about them more.
Is wearing headphones while climbing unsafe?
If you are wearing headphones then you are endangering yourself with a potential injury, caused by them. For example, if you fall on your back and your ear will touch the ground then you can push it further into your eardrum, which can lead to many consequences, but how probably is that?
It is not very probable, you have to balance the risk of your daily life just to keep living. Think for example how many unsafe situations there are outside of your house, like twisting your ankle on a sidewalk, or even a car accident, but somehow we still walk on a sidewalk, and drive a car knowing the risks.
Keeping the right balance is the key to a happy life, that’s why you have to pick for yourself if you want to listen to music while climbing or not. Note that gyms often do have their music system placed inside the climbing gym, so you don’t need to bring your headphones.
Why do gyms prohibit climbers from wearing headphones?
Climbing gyms almost always have some list of rules that climbers need to follow, and some of those rules are silly and some are there to keep us safe. There are some gyms that prevent climbers from wearing glasses, which is a bit weird, but if you want to find out more then check out our article about it “Is Climbing With Glasses Possible? – (Tips To Make It Safe)“. but let’s get back to headphones for a while.
Is listening to music while climbing dangerous? As we said before it depends, but in most cases, it is not unsafe, also forcing people to not wear headphones is a bit weird. Some gyms would like to prevent everything that has even low chances of possibility just to not endanger themselves and climbers for arguing and even sometimes lawsuits.
That’s why some gyms are creating those long lists of rules to keep them and climbers “safe”, and that’s why silly rules exist like “prohibited fake nails”, but if you want to know more about it then make sure to check it out here “Can You Go Bouldering With Fake Nails? – (For Beginners)“.
Gyms often play the music throughout the whole gym, so the headphones are not necessary unless you need your favorite music to perform better.
The best headphones for climbing
It’s hard to climb properly with headphones, that’s why I did the research for you to find out the best possible headphones for climbing. The biggest issue is that those headphones should stick to your ears when you do your crazy climbing stunts, and for that, we need to look for something unusual. Here is a perfect solution for you: OKEEFE Bluetooth headphones will let you climb without worrying about them falling off. Bluetooth headphones don’t have any cable that will make it hard, but they are also long enough to catch your whole ear and prevent falling off your head.
I can highly recommend you OKEEFE headphones as the best headphones for climbing, so look no further, and check it out.
Why do climbers want to wear headphones?
There is a high percentage of people who like to do many things while listening to their favorite music, especially when they are doing sports, like climbing or bouldering. Music gives us motivation and energy, and it has been proven by many studies. That’s why people who are listening to music are often performing better.
There are also a lot of people who prefer to concentrate on a simple task which is reaching the top, and music would only disrupt them.
In Summary – Can I listen to music while climbing?
Of course, you can listen to music while climbing, but be aware of the dangers that come with it, and make sure that your climbing gym doesn’t have it prohibited in their gym rules. Note that almost every climbing gym has some sort of audio system which plays the music for all climbers through their speakers.
Too loud music can make it harder for you to find climbing friends and if you are struggling with it make sure to check out our new article “How To Make New Friends On a Bouldering Gym?“.
