EU: iPod Users May Be Killing Their Hearing

[Vincent Ferrari]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10065031-71.html' target='_blank'>http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10065031-71.html</a><br /><br /></div><p><em>"The EU's Scientific Committee on emerging health risks, which is normally concerned with noise in factories and the British Parliament, performed a study of MP3 usage. The committee members' findings left them with a strange ringing feeling. They concluded that an hour's iPod usage a day for five years might make as many as 1 in 10 listeners deaf. The problem, the committee believes, is that many people love to listen to their music too loud. In Europe, MP3 players are limited to a mere 100 decibels. However, these European scientists concluded that anything above 89 decibels listened to with regularity has an effect that is louder than the limits imposed on factories."</em></p><p><img src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/resizer/thumbs/size/600/dht/auto/1224216248.usr18053.jpg" width="240" height="400" /><br /><em>(Inset picture via <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/darkpatator/395215639/">CC Darkpatator</a> on flickr)</em></p><p>Every couple of years we get one of these studies that warn us that listening to music too loudly on our iPods is going to be the death of our eardrums, and year after year, as the author points out, we never run into people who have actually lost their hearing because of iPod volume abuse.&nbsp; While it stands to reason that using any audio device at too high a volume for too long could damage your hearing, does it really need to be studied again and again?&nbsp; What do you guys think?&nbsp; Do we really need the government warning us that using a media player with the volume cranked might be dangerous or do you think their warnings fall on deaf ears?</p><p>Sorry.&nbsp; I couldn't resist.</p>

[Hooch Tan]

Being against nanny states, I'd have to say that I don't think it's the government's responsibility to prevent us from listening to our music loudly. I for one don't, but as long as people don't blast it loud enough for me to hear it in public, I don't have a problem with it.

To that end, I agree with you that there's already been enough studies showing that loud sounds on a regular basis dulls the ears. The only thing the government should do, if anything, is help make sure that this knowledge is freely available. Inform, not enforce.

[paschott]

I'd tend to agree with the above comment - inform, don't necessarily enforce. If there is some setting that is just always too high, I don't know that I have a problem limiting it, but I never listen to anything that loud to start with. Of course, you need to take into account the fact that you're sometimes using the headphone jack to output to an external device and it may not make sense to limit the volume that way.

Of course, I think that the warning does tend to fall on deaf ears just because this is not really new news. We've pretty much known about these issues since walkmans and portable cassette players. People didn't care then and don't seem to care too much now. :(

[serpico]

Ah whatever. This is the same study that Sony had to deal with in the 80's when their cassette walkmans became so popular. We didn't even have in ear headphones and I recall my mom believing the study and holding out buying us any walkmans. It could be any headphone, not the source. iPod just get's more headlines.:D

[Vincent Ferrari]

Of course, I think that the warning does tend to fall on deaf ears just because this is not really new news. We've pretty much known about these issues since walkmans and portable cassette players. People didn't care then and don't seem to care too much now. :(

And if that's the case (which I agree it is) then why in the h does the gov't insist on spending millions and millions on these studies and ad campaigns to tell us what we already know? It's as if they're saying "You must listen to this! Seriously! It's good for you!" and people are shouting back "We are listening, we just don't care!"

Ugh.

[djdj]

I'm 100% convinced that my younger brother has experienced hearing loss due to listening to music too loud. He is unable to hear things that the rest of us do, and he talks a lot louder than is necessary. He has never had a super loud sound system at home, but he definitely spends a lot of time with headphones on, and the volume too loud. So I don't think that the argument that nobody has encountered anyone who has experienced hearing loss holds any water.

[albucian]

Science and medicine progress, it's important to renew and update studies to have a more accurate analysis and also to maintain the credibility of those studies. Do you think a kid from today will give a **** about a study performed in the 80's? It's also important to keep delivering the message so new generation are aware of it. And if you want to deliver this kind of message you better have some facts. A journalist will never tell you "don't put your volume too high it's dangerous" he will say "a new study demonstrated that...."
It's not because you guys know already know that they should stop repeating the mesage". It's true that many people will not listen but at least if you can help a few people...

[enjoythemusic]

Hearing loss will be increase for MANY people who listen to portable audio players at high volume levels for a certain time interval. Not just iPod users, the same with Zune and others. FULLY agree it IS NOT the Gvt's nor the industry to police this per se, it is the PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY of the user.

Some guidelines are available at Sound Guidelines (http://hei.org/education/soundpartners/guidelines.htm), yet the problem is that many people have no real clue what SPL (sound pressure level) is, let alone how to know when they have surpassed a certain volume/time interval for safe listening. Sadly, many kids today will be deaf, or nearly so, before they are 30 due to their use of portable audio players.

Enjoy the Music,

Steven R. Rochlin
Editor
Enjoy the Music.com - High End Audiophile Audio Equipment and Music Reviews. The Absolute Sound, Superior Audio, hi-fi+ and Review Magazine (http://www.EnjoyTheMusic.com)

[Vincent Ferrari]

It's true that many people will not listen but at least if you can help a few people...

Let me be my usual blunt self.

If a person is so... Let's say... "uninformed" that they don't know that loud volume can hurt your hearing, do you really think they'd be informed enough to even know a study was done on this, let alone interpret it and pay attention to its findings?

If you ask me, that's the catch-22 that's inherent in the entire thing. If you're smart enough to know better, you don't need this info. If you're not, you probably also aren't smart enough to process it once you have it.

To clarify... In the year 2008, who exactly is this a revelation to?

[Sven Johannsen]

Hang on a second, let me get my reading glasses. I seem to have damaged my eysight by reading all these redundant studies.

[Vincent Ferrari]

Hang on a second, let me get my reading glasses. I seem to have damaged my eysight by reading all these redundant studies.

Amen, brother. Amen.