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Hearing trouble in store for the iPod generation
Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent4 Jun 2010
Londoners are risking permanent hearing damage by turning their MP3 players up to dangerously high
volumes.
Figures published today reveal that two thirds of people in the capital are exceeding safe limits.
A survey shows some have the volume close to that of a pneumatic drill, or a jet engine.
Experts warn that hearing problems triggered by overexposure to loud music are a health time bomb for the “iPod generation”.
The study, carried out over five days at Tube stations by London clinic the Cubex Hearing Centre, was backed by charity Environmental Protection UK.
Noise damage is caused by two factors — volume and the length of time you listen. Experts agree that a safe volume limit is 85 decibels.
Continued exposure to noise above that level can cause irreparable damage to the nerve endings in the ear, headaches and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears. Of 300 people tested for the study, 66 per cent exceeded the 85-decibel limit.
One man's music was louder than 100 decibels, similar to the level of a pneumatic drill at close range.
Just four minutes of daily exposure at this level can cause irreparable damage. A student at the University of Arts in High Holborn had her music at 110 decibels.
The EU is looking at plans to monitor noise levels from headphones.
There have been test cases in America where people with hearing damage have sued.
Adam Shulberg from Cubex said: “People must cut the wear time, turn down the volume or invest in noise-reducing headphones.”
The RNID charity for the deaf is campaigning to educate people about the dangers of listening to loud music.
Director of public engagement Emma Harrison said: “While people wouldn't choose to stand near a drill for very long, many spend hours listening to music at the same dangerous level. We want them to enjoy music safely.”
Reader views (6)
I sincerely hope those p***ks who drive around with their music blasting out, making my windows rattle, go deaf as well
- Lizzie, London UK, 05/06/2010 18:22
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Probably due to the fact all digital tracks now are mastered with so much peak limiting (to get as loud a sound as possible), the sound clips most of the time (nasty distortion). This will hurt the ears eventually. The old anaogue tape walkmans of past didn't quite give such as nasty sharp sound as todays digital equipment. Recent CDs are now mastered to be as loud as possible too (Google 'Loudness War'), so recent CDs are going to be alot louder than older ones, and this could lead to ear damage.
- No More Loudness War Please, London, 04/06/2010 15:05
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My missus is louder than these toys... hasn't affected my hearing so far 
- Sanjay, Hounslow, UK, 04/06/2010 12:34
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quasimodo was one of the first sufferers,the bells esmaralda ,headaches esmaralda...then stop listening to mike oldfield quasi.
- scony, middlesbrough, 04/06/2010 10:29
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Stating the obvious! Since technology has made any kind of device that gets plugged into ears its a four gone conclusion that in years to come those that play the things at full volume (enough for a whole carriage of commuters to hear) will go stone deaf. Most people nowadays seem to walk around in a dream because they are listening to an MP3 or similar, and how on earth cyclists manager to negotiate other traffic when they can't even here anything because they are plugged in to music is beyond me! I'm surprised more pedestrians aren't killed the amount of times they seem to walk across roads totally unaware of cars coming along as they are so engrossed in their ear plug music. It's turning people into dopey zombies.
- Sue, Kent, 04/06/2010 10:21
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I don't get this at all. 30 years ago we had the Sony Walkman and none of us have gone deaf, does an MP3 player emit some other frequency that damages hearing? Obviously this articly has been written by some youngster who thinks their generation is the first to do everything!
- Jane, London, 04/06/2010 10:12
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