The European Union commission is seeking a set limit for the maximum volume on all MP3 & MP4 players sold within the EU. This will apply to the popular iPod
These recommendations come after a shocking report released within the last months which warned that up to 10 million people within the EU risk permanent hearing loss as a result of listening to loud music for prolonged periods
Experts at the EU Commission are pushing for the default maximum volume to be at 85 decibels. However consumers would be able to bypass this default limit and increase the volume to a maximum threshold of 100 decibels.
At the beginning of this year, an eight week consultation of all EU standardization committees started on these proposals to limit volume. It’s expected that the final agreement would be reached within 3 months
Worrying results were brought to light at testing facilities where some MP3 players were examined by researchers. A number of of the players had a maximum volume level of 120 decibels, that is equal to a plane taking off. This is the issue that the EU is hoping to deal with, as at the moment no set safety default volume level applies.
However personal media player manufacturers are required to publish information about risks in their player instruction manuals. For all practical purposes though, users do not reads these, and it doesn’t prevent the consumer from increasing the volume to maximum. What’s more,a study has shown that hearing loss amongst younger people is increasing as a result of the use of listing to loud music on earphones.
MP3 players are perceived as being more dangerous than CD players or the ‘Walkman’ because they can store many hours of music and have a long battery life, which means that users can listen to them continuously for long periods without a break. Often while driving when the volume is very height to drown out outside noise. Over time the resulting injury to hearing can be similar that seen in previous years caused by industrial noise.
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