Worried that personal music players are slowly destroying eardrums throughout the continent, the European Union wants manufacturers to warn customers that pumping up the volume could lead to deafness.
“If you want to enjoy your favorite songs in 20 or 30 years time, turn the volume down,” said European Union Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, adding that experts and the industry will draft tougher standards for personal gadgets.
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that listening to loud continuous sounds could destroy a person’s hearing. Seems every few years someone somewhere is warning about the dangers of over amplification. From home audio systems to Walkmans to iPods, consumers have had plenty of warnings about cranking the volume to the max.
Now an EU scientific advisory body is saying from 2.5 million to 10 million Europeans might damage their hearing from listening to too-loud MP3 players. What does the advisory group consider to be too loud? Anything played at 89 decibels or louder for more than one hour a day.
By comparison, anything over 120 decibels is considered to be the equal to the noise caused by an airplane taking off. According to a chart posted on CoolMath.com comparing decibel levels, the EU’s 89 decibel threshold is close to the same noise levels caused by “heavy truck traffic.”
The EU’s executive commission claims most personal players sold can reach volume levels between 80 and 115 decibels. Furthermore, some earphones can boost levels even higher.
“The use of personal music players at high volume settings over a sustained time can lead to permanent hearing damage,” Kuneva said. “We need to make sure consumers, particularly young people, are aware of these risks.”
EU plans to introduce standards calling for manufacturers to incorporate an 89-decibel limit into their MP3 players, although customers could bypass the limit by simply turning off the default setting.
Manufacturers are also interested in protecting their customers’ hearing, and are reportedly welcoming the EU’s campaign to lower volume levels. However, many companies say they need to study the best way to deliver warnings to their customers first.
Apple may already have a head start. Responding to France’s new law limiting players to a 100-decibel ceiling, Apple has been working toward lowering sound limits on iPods. The company also ships a warning with each iPod cautioning users that “permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume.”
Warnings and advertising will certainly make folks more aware about the dangers of playing personal players louder than the ears can handle. However, users are also going to shoulder some of the responsibility by learning to turn down the volume.
Click here for the EU’s Web site.