Audio News

MP3 players are causing a big threat to people by affecting their hearing capabilities. Most of the music listeners enjoy their favourite tracks at 100 decibels, which is very destructive as far as their ear’s health is concerned. Normally sound below 70 decibels is considered harmless and the people who are used to listening music at a level beyond that generally end up complaining about deafness after a certain number of years.

The European Union is also considering this issue seriously. The EU Scientific Committee has found that about 5-10 per cent on MP3 player owners are suffered from hearing disorders (some are permanently deaf now) just because of high volume. About 50-100 million people use their MP3 players daily in the EU. Those who listen to music in excess of 89 dB for 5 hours are vulnerable to permanent hear loss within 5 years. Obviously nearly all MP3 players, including models like Sony NWZ-S659F, allow their listeners to hear music at this high and dangerous volume, meaning that practically all users are at risk. According to Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, “I am concerned that up to 10 million people in the EU, who are frequent users of personal music players and mobile phones at high acoustic levels, may be unknowingly damaging their hearing. In light of the recent scientific advice, we need to act quickly, to look again at the controls in place, to make sure they are fully effective and keep pace with new technology so that consumers benefit from the highest safety standards.”

The MP3 player makers are asked to take appropriate precautions technically while designing their product. The consumers of old units too are advised to maintain low volume.