MUMBAI: European Union has introduced volume restrictions on MP3 players fearing that listening to the portable music players at high volume could cause hearing damage.
Studies found some portable music players have a sound level of beyond 115 decibels – a noise to which workers are not allowed to be exposed for more than 30 seconds. Now the European Union is ready to tell firms such as iPod maker Apple to turn down the volume after a big rise in young people seeking help for hearing problems.
The EU plans to launch a consultation early next year with an 85-100 decibel top limit, as the final agreement is expected in spring.
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European consumer lobby Anec Stephen Russell told the Politics Show, “There are up to 10 million Europeans, mainly young people, who are at risk of losing their hearing permanently in the next five years due to their personal listening habits.
“The units on the market at the moment, some of them are capable of generating a volume of beyond 115 decibels; now if we compare that with health and safety legislation, workers are not allowed to be exposed to that levels of volume for more than 30 seconds.”
Dr Robin Yeoh, of the Portland Hospital in London, added, “Once you damage the nerves of your inner ear it’s permanent, there’s no medication, no surgery, no therapy that’s going to reverse it.
“The experts are seeing a change in demographics. We’re seeing much less people working in heavy industry, they’re much younger and the suspicion is a lot have been exposed to recreational noise, whether it’s clubbing, discos, but personal music players play a big part.”
