![]() ![]() That was below sexually transmitted diseases (50%), alcohol and drug use (47%) and even acne (18%). The simple fact is that young people like their music loud and seldom believe that hearing loss is a serious danger.Ī recent study in Pediatrics reported that of the nearly 10,000 people who responded to a survey posted on the MTV web site, only 8% considered hearing loss "a very big problem." #Kids mp3 player how to"If you set the cap at 100, that doesn't give you license to listen all day."īesides, as soon as those European nations capped the sound level of iPods, web sites started providing detailed instructions on how to override that limit. "Capping the volume focuses on the sound level, not the dose," he said. ![]() "That's enough to give parents some peace of mind," says Metcalfe.Īlso, France and other European countries have enacted laws that limit the volume of iPods and other devices to 100 decibels.īut Fligor believes such efforts produce a false sense of safety. Inventor Tom Metcalfe tells WebMD that Kid'sEarSaver reduces sound by more than 15 decibels. ![]() Limiting the volume of MP3 players may seem like an obvious solution.ĭevices, such as the Kid'sEarSaver, claim to reduce the sound output of listening devices, such as MP3 and CD players. At that sound level he shouldn't listen for more than eight to 15 minutes."īut if he's like millions of other iPod owners, the boy probably listens for several hours a day, placing a large noise burden on his hearing even if he turns it down when he's not cutting grass. If he likes listening to his iPod 20 decibels above that, he's in the range of 100-105 decibels. The lawn mower noise is about 80 to 85 decibels. "Every time you increase a sound level by three decibels, listening for half as long will produce the same amount of hearing loss. He found that all the CD players he examined produced sound levels well in excess of 85 decibels. "Studies have shown that people exposed to 85 decibels for eight hours tend to develop hearing loss," Brian Fligor, ScD, of Children's Hospital in Boston, tells WebMD. The NIH recently responded by saying, "Any type of headphone has the potential to cause if used improperly in terms of absolute level of the sounds, the length of exposure time to sound, and the fit of the earphone or headphone." They add that more research is still needed to determine if a particular type of earphone increases the risk. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) asked the National Institutes of Health to research the potentially devastating effects posed by earbud headphones. Increasing reports like this have caused U.S. Since damage to hearing caused by high volume is determined by its duration, continuous listening to an MP3 player, even at a seemingly reasonable level, can damage the delicate hair cells in the inner ear that transmit sound impulses to the brain. They don't even have to stop to change a CD or a tape. A CD player and a Walkman do too, but MP3 players such as the iPod pose an additional danger.īecause they hold thousands of songs and can play for hours without recharging, users tend to listen continuously for hours at a time. These devices, which pump music through headphones directly into the ear canal, enable the user to overcome the rumble of the subway or the drone of an airplane engine without drawing angry shouts of "turn it down!"Īs a result, they easily desensitize the user to dangerously high sound levels. ![]() New surveys from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association highlight that risk, noting that high school students are much more likely than adults to blast the volume in their MP3 players, raising the risk of hearing loss later on. Loud rock music contributed to hearing loss among baby boomers, but MP3 players are poised to make the problem much worse for the next generation. ![]()
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