I suppose you really shouldn't be surprised that there's probably a connection between excessive use of MP3 players and hearing loss, so I guess this could be a reminder.  Nonetheless, for the interested.

Quote:BRUSSELS — Noise from personal music players is a routine annoyance for travelers on buses, trains and planes.

But it also threatens permanent hearing loss for as many as 10 million Europeans who use them, according to a scientific study for the European Union that will be published Monday.

The report said that those who listened for five hours a week at high-volume settings exposed themselves to more noise than permitted in the noisiest factory or work place. Maximum volume on some devices can generate as much noise as an airplane taking off nearby.

The study — from a team of nine specialists on the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks — also warns that young people do not realize the damage until years later.

“Regularly listening to personal music players at high-volume settings when young,” the report said, “often has no immediate effect on hearing but is likely to result in hearing loss later in life.”

The report is the latest of several to warn that the “MP3” generation of youths may be heading for hearing impairment in later life.

But older people may also be vulnerable. In the 27 countries in the European Union, an estimated 50 million to 100 million people out of about 500 million may be listening to portable music players daily, the report said.

Users listening at high volumes for more than an hour a day each week risk permanent hearing loss after five years. This is equivalent to 5 percent to 10 percent of the listeners, which may be 2.5 million to 10 million people in the European Union, the study concluded.

Such fears have already prompted litigation. In 2006 a man in Louisiana filed a lawsuit against Apple, claiming the company had failed to take adequate steps to prevent hearing loss among iPod users.

The suit, filed in Federal District Court in San Jose, Calif., claims that the iPod can produce sounds as loud as 115 decibels, when 89 decibels is considered that maximum for safe listening. Apple warns its customers about the danger of hearing loss in its iPod manual.

Personal stereos and portable phones with a music-playing facility are considered a particular threat because ear-bud type earphones lead to a greater sound exposure than other types of listening devices.

“Some authors stress that if young people continue to listen to music for long periods of time and at high volume levels during several years, they run the risk of developing hearing loss by the time they reach their mid-twenties,” the report said. “Among young people, there are many reports of temporary or persistent tinnitus induced by loud music, but very few studies have focused on the relationship between the use of personal music players and tinnitus.”

Meglena Kuneva, the European consumer affairs commissioner, planned to announce a proposal on Monday for a conference in Brussels in 2009 to evaluate the findings with national governments as well as representatives of industry and consumers.

The conference will discuss precautions that users can take, as well as technical solutions to minimize hearing damage. It will also consider whether there is a need for further regulations or revisions of existing safety standards.

The report refers to a 2004 study that recommends limiting listening time to one hour per day and setting the volume to no more than 60 percent of maximum sound output when using headphones that are placed over the ears — and even less when using ear buds.

It said another study suggested restricting the maximum output level of personal music players to 90 decibels.

The Scientific Committee opinion argues that if users of personal music players listen for only five hours a week at volumes exceeding 89 decibels, that level would exceed the current limits in place for noise allowed in the work place.

Last year in Britain, the Royal National Institute for Deaf People warned that more than two-thirds of young people who regularly use MP3 players faced premature hearing damage.

The market for personal music devices continues to boom. In the last four years, estimated sales ranged from 184 to 246 million for all portable audio devices and from 124 to 165 million for MP3 players.

The European Union specialists add that although such listening devices are beneficial to many listeners, there are other dangers apart from hearing loss.

“Listening to music through personal music players can be beneficial when performing boring and repetitive tasks,” the report said.

“However, it may be a hindrance for complicated tasks that require thinking. Music can distract the listeners and isolate them from their environment which can be very dangerous when driving or walking on busy roads.”

- Source: [NY Times]


Short version: don't turn the volume up too high on your player.  Oh, and that especially means you iPod users who enjoy the volume boosting capabilities of the device (and annoy people like me with those annoying beats/shouts/whatever you listen to, yeah).
;P