Bose noise cancelling headphones... Cool stuff!
Posted on 05/11/2005 11:50:31 AM PDT by ambrose
11/05/05 - News and city section
'iPods can make you deaf'
By Mark Prigg, Evening Standard
A health alert over the dangers to your hearing from portable music players is issued today.
Experts say the huge popularity of iPods and other players could leave a generation of music fans with serious problems.
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.
A leading expert warned that people had to use the players more responsibly. Andrew Reid, head of audiology at the Royal United Hospital in Bristol, said: "This is a big problem for young people, and there is a real risk that prolonged listening could lead to permanent hearing damage."
Mr Reid added: "If you are on a Tube, you have to turn the player up to dangerous levels just to hear it. Over time, this is going to lead to problems like tinnitus and severe damage to the inner ear." Tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss occurs when the delicate hair nerve cells that line the inner ear suffer repeated trauma from loud sound vibrations.
According to Mr Reid, the first signs are a ringing or buzzing in the ears. "People really need to turn down the player straight away and consult their doctor if the problems continue," he warned.
Experts say the problem has reached critical levels due to the popularity of the iPod. Apple has sold 5.6million worldwide since it was introduced in 2001, along with over 250 million songs via its online music store.
Experts believe that usage has increased dramatically because owners can now carry their entire CD collection with them, and the latest players give up to 30 hours' playback on a single battery charge.
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 Royal National Institute for the Deaf said: "We are concerned that many people are turning up the volume on their personal stereos to levels that could create hearing loss in the long term."
The RNID has launched a new website, dontlosethemusic.com, 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.
Experts today 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, 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."
Apple said all iPods sold in Britain complied with EU volume standards, but refused to comment on the new research.
Dang, I wonder if this will end up like the Alar in Apples nonsense.
Considering I'm on the design team that creates the chips for the iPod ... I hope that this is total BS
EH?.....
What?
Can I sue you if I go deaf? or must I buy one first?......
Geez... have these people never heard of noise-cancelling headphones? No need to crank up the iPod (or any other device... why iPods are singled out is beyond me) to dangerous levels, and as a side benefit, you can listen to something with more dynamic range, like classical or audiobooks.
You can have the same problems from running power tools or living next to an airport if you don't exercise common sense.
Silly of me. Sorry about that whole "common sense" thing. I should know better by now.
Oh, puhleeeeez!! Walkmans and other portable radio/cassette/CD players have been around forever. What makes iPods any different (in terms on their effect on one's hearing)?
What'd you say?
WHAT! Could you repeat that please? I did not hear you. PLease talk louder!
So can working around jet engines - at least when they're running.
been possible as long as there have been headphones...people cranking them up as loud as possible...what's new?
nothing new. playing any sound at significant volume directly into the ear canel will obviously cause problems. to compensate, better headphones should be produced that would block the outside audio instead of trying to play over it. full ear headphones are the answer (unless you can use white noise to counter the other external audio.. which would be very cool)
Bose noise cancelling headphones... Cool stuff!
Wow nice search and replace they did to "rewrite" the same story from 25 years ago when Sony Walkman's hit. Yes headphones as a delivery system for music are more hazardous at high volumes than speakers, but stereo speakers are a little inconvenient to carry with you, life is filled with trade offs.
Same thing with the old Sony Walkman's, also rock concerts, etc. Doctors say wear ear plugs to concerts, and you'll still hear the music, but suffer no hearing loss.
"iPods can make you deaf?" Brilliant.
How about, "Repeated exposure to high-decible sounds can cause deafness"? Freakin' DUH!!
Talk about recycling old news.
In-eartube phones. That's the issue.
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