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May 12, 2005
What's that you say? iPods? Make you deaf?
We know we're going to have to shout to get your attention, but you may just want to turn the volume down long enough to digest this story from the London Evening Standard which warns that iPods could be causing hearing loss and inner ear damage.
London commuters face the greatest risk as they play the machines at potentially damaging volume levels because of the background noise on Tubes and trains, according to Andrew Reid, head of audiology at the Royal United Hospital in Bristol.
Experts say problems like tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss have reached critical levels due to the popularity of the iPod. Recent research found that 39 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds listen to personal stereos for more than an hour each day, with 13 per cent listening for two hours or more.
The RNID has launched a new website to warn users about the problem. It says users who are worried should investigate buying in-ear headphones that can block out background noise, allowing the volume of players to be turned down. [On that topic, we notice APC Magazine recommends the Etymotic ER-6i, which will set you back a mere $219]
And experts [there seem to be a lot of experts in this story] have called for Apple and other manufacturers to limit the volume of their players, and for users to limit their listening to under an hour a day.
According to one expert [there they go again] reducing the time people listen to their player is key.
"It would obviously be beneficial to reduce the volume and restrict the usage of personal players," said Christine DePlacido of the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.
She added: "The difficulty is in persuading people to do this before their hearing is damaged, as many believe hearing loss will not happen to them until they are much older. A lot of the young people I see with tinnitus describe listening to music at high intensities."
Posted by cw at May 12, 2005 08:05 AM
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