Tue, 14 Oct 2008 EU experts want to turn down your iPod

EU consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva, said, “I am concerned that so many young people, in particular, who are frequent users of personal music players and mobile phones at high acoustic levels, may be unknowingly damaging their hearing irrevocably. The scientific findings indicate a clear risk and we need to react rapidly. Most importantly we need to raise consumer awareness and put this information in the public domain. We need also to look again at the controls in place, in the light of this scientific advice, to make sure they are fully effective and keep pace with new technology.”

A European safety standard already exists restricting the noise level of personal music players to 100 dB.

The EU Scientific Committee opinion highlights that users of personal music players - if they listen for only 5 hours per week at high volume control settings (exceeding 89 decibels) would exceed the current limits in place for noise allowed in the workplace
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Users listening for longer periods risk permanent hearing loss after 5 years. This approximates to 5-10 per cent of the listeners, which may be between 2.5 and 10 million people in the EU.

The Commission is organising a conference in early 2009 in Brussels to evaluate the findings of the Scientific Committee and discuss a way forward, including a reduction in the mandated maximum volume rate.