As the popularity of MP3 players keeps going up, there are now concerns about consumers (especially young people) permanently damaging their ears due to prolonged listening at very high volumes. When portable cassette players and CD players were at their height, most consumers use to listen to an average of one full tape or CD. However, as MP3 players can hold anywhere from several hours to 300 hours worth of music, consumers are more tempted to listen to music up to several hours at a time.
The worst affected are those who listen to music on public transport, as most will turn up the music to drown out the background noise and many MP3 players can output volume levels of over 100dB. For example, the iPod can output up to 104dB (excluding Europe) and according to H.E.A.R., maximum exposure at 105dB should be limited to 1 hour. Unfortunately, it is difficult to persuade one to lower their player's volume as most do not believe that hearing loss happens until they are much older. Besides hearing loss, a more unpleasant symptom is Tinnitus where the person hears a continuous ringing or buzzing sound.
Authorities in France have already capped the maximum volume level to 100dB for portable devices and at the time, Apple temporarily suspended its iPod sales in France until they could release an updated version with a 100dB limit. As a result of this decision in France, many MP3 player manufacturers now limit the maximum volume to 100dB within Europe.
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The iPod - like all digital music players - is compact, stores huge amounts of music and can play for many hours. As a result, more people are listening for longer to their favourite tracks. But audiologists believe tens of thousands of young people are causing serious damage to themselves, and are likely to suffer tinnitus and loss of hearing in later life. The experts say MP3 players should be designed to prevent people playing music above 90 decibels, about two-thirds of the maximum volume of a typical device. Perhaps more worryingly for people who have 3,000 songs stored on an iPod, they also say listening should be restricted to no more than an hour a day. The original Walkman played cassettes with a maximum duration of two hours, while portable CD players give up to 80 minutes a disc. A typical MP3 player, however, can store up to 300 hours of music and has batteries that last for 12 hours before needing to be recharged. Volume controls on many of the machines can be cranked up to in excess of 100 decibels, equivalent to standing five metres from a pneumatic drill. Read the full article here. |
One thing I have noticed over time is that each time I got a new portable player, the maximum volume is more limited. My original cassette player could be turned up loud to the point where my headphones could be used as speakers, where as my current MP3 player is not loud enough to drown out a radio playing in the background, such as on public transport.
I have already heard of iPod fans complaining about not being able to turn up the volume loud enough, so I don't think many MP3 player fans would be that happy if some law comes in to limit the maximum volume even further, especially since experts would like the volume to be limited to just 90dB.
