Ever since the first cassette tape walkmans hit the market, there have been many reports and studies into extended listening of loud music with worrying reports of how easily one can damage their hearing, including many recent reports with Digital Audio Players. Even though the vast majority of portable player manufacturers have limited how loud their players can go, a study carried out by 100 doctoral students have revealed some worrying results even with recent players, this time explaining their findings as percentages of a maximum player's volume rather than in decibels.
When
listening to a player between 10% and 50% of its maximum volume, the study found that no problems occur even with extended listening periods. When the volume is cranked up to 80%, the listener can get away with up to 90 minutes of listening per day if they use their player on a daily bases. This period can be extended without risk if the listener only uses their player on the occasional day. However, the risk of hearing loss significantly increases once the period is increased beyond 90 minutes per day on average or the volume is increased beyond 80%. For example, at 100% volume, a listener would face risk of hearing loss at just more than 5 minutes per day. Unfortunately it can take up to 10 years for the hearing loss to show.
Interestingly, the study has found the volume levels are typically equal between various makes and brands of digital music players and the same goes with different genres of music. For example, an iPod listener who loves Rock music would be at the same risk as a user of another branded player who loves country music, assuming both listen at the same volume level from 80% up. However, another story found that in-ear earphones are more dangerous than over-ear headphones, since the earphones concentrate the audio more. Thanks to GristyMcFisty for letting us know about this news:
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The study of 100 doctoral students concluded that people who listened to music at 80 percent of volume capacity, at which point the sound is considered loud, should stick to under 90 minutes a day. "If a person exceeds that on one particular day and happens not to use their headphones for the rest of the week, they're at no higher risk," study author Brian Fligor told Reuters. "I'm talking about someone who's exceeding 80 percent for 90 minutes day after day, month after month, for years." |
If listening to an MP3 player at 100% can potentially ruin one's hearing at just over 5 minutes per day, it makes me wonder about some people who complain about their iPod (or other MP3 player) being not loud enough! Interestingly, there are many headphone amplifiers on the market that claim to amplify the volume by between 200% and 300%. While some larger driver headphones may need the extra power, consumers who get these to amplify their earphones volume well beyond their MP3 player's normal maximum volume are really putting their hearing at serious risk.
GristyMcFisty added: Time to sue the music industry, after all they supplied the music...! Stranger things have happened Stateside...
Source: Reuters - Health
