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Study warns of MP3 hearing risk
Author: Gareth HalfacreePublished: 14th October 2008
Who knew that the iPod could be so dangerous? Up to five million EU citizens could be at risk of hearing damage from heavy use of MP3 players.
The New York Times reports that a study from the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks has identified that individuals who listen to personal music devices via headphones at a high volume for just five hours a week are exposing themselves to greater levels of noise than is permitted in a building site or factory floor. The study even states that the maximum volume setting can produce the same noise levels as an aeroplane taking off.
According to the report, “regularly listening to personal music players at high-volume settings when young often has no immediate effect on hearing but is likely to result in hearing loss later in life.”
With the rising popularity of MP3 playback devices – be they iPods, mobile phones, or even hand-held games consoles – more people than ever are listening to music while on the go. The report estimates that around 10-20 percent of the European Union listen to such devices daily – and as many as ten percent of those at a level which could well put them at risk within five years.
In order to tackle what many officials are seeing as a future epidemic of deafness – with as many as five million people likely to suffer hearing damage as a result of listening to personal music devices at an unsafe volume within the next five years – the European consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva is to announce a proposal for a conference in Brussels to evaluate the results of the study and to investigate whether enforced limitations are required. A major topic of discussion is likely to be a 2004 study which recommended listening to personal music devices for no more than one cumulative hour per day and at a volume of no more than 60 percent of the device's maximum – less, if you're using in-ear 'bud' style headphones.
Do you believe that modern personal audio devices have a too-high maximum volume, or should the EU keep their noses out of your thrash metal collection? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
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Comments (29)Stats: 0.049 seconds
But it always amazes me how stupid people can be, I mean if I can hear your music on a train when I have my own headphones in surely its doing something bad to your hearing.
If you can't figure out for yourself that listening to loud music all the time will damage your hearing then you deserve to go deaf.
That said I do have tinitus...
Its an obvious risk that individuals shouldnt need pointing out to them, keep killing those hairs in your ears that will never grow back you silly people
I wonder how this crap gets recycled every few months. It's common sense ffs.
I know that I feel my ears heavy and kinda blocked. but I can hear good maybe you can say I hear with more bass :(
I knew it can effect. but I can't stop listening to music. I'm using my headphones now at 40 - 60 % :) But I will get desktop speakers better.
lol.. GOOD Point of view really. I Kinda live like that.
I know a lot of newer mp3 players are a lot quieter than my 5 year old creative. I always try to limit my volume but at first 50% is loud but after 3 hours i end up at around 90% even though i know i should not :(
It won't be good if I do go deaf though, silly me :(
it's like commercials on television they are significantly louder than the actual shows. i don't want to go for the volume knob in both situation.
that being said my hearing is perfectly fine, but i have developed over the years to block out voices, especially naggy people. In this case no matter how close/loud their speaking i will always need to ask them to repeat it. Since i fell that if it's really important they will get my full attention first instead of telling me something and walking off. Sadly this applies to my employer as well and does not work out so well sometimes.
Also, as stated above, my walkman had what was known as AVLS back in the last century.
It's almost like putting 'hot' on a coffee mug - if you didn't know that, you're not old enough to have the caffeine in the first place :)
I remember the same warnings about Walkman's.
And of course it "gets recycled every few months" because "there's one born every minute".
It's tobacco all over again.
it always annoyes me to see so many people using them, they are truly awful on quality, but don't need as much juice to be loud. many good headphones on the other hand require quite a lot more voltage.
When you can't feel your own pulse because you are standing next to a subwoofer twice the size of yourself, that's loud. But you are still able to communicate without shouting because of the low frequency.
And I enjoy every second of it.
Be warned though that ear cannal headphones used with high volumes will ruin your hearing faster than a rusty flat-head screwdriver to the ear