Scientists issue health warning to music lovers

Scientists issued a health warning to the personal music generation today about noise levels from their in-ear entertainment.

The quality of music reproduction at high levels on tiny players is now so good that more people are turning up the volume – risking permanent hearing damage.

A report from the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) estimates that 5-10% of personal music player users risk permanent hearing loss if they listen for more than an hour a day at high volume settings for at least five years.

And if that sounds like a low risk, European Commission officials pointed to the rising numbers of people who plug themselves into loud music every day just for journeys to and from school or work.

Add up the hours and the decibels, they said, and the number in the EU risking some permanent hearing loss is put at between 2.5 and 10 million people.

The Commission ordered today’s study from the independent committee because of the soaring numbers routinely exposed to high noise volumes through personal players.

An EU safety standard already exists restricting the noise level of personal music players to 100 decibels, but the scientists said the danger level is long-term exposure to music pumped into the ears above 89 decibels.

At that level, users of personal music players are exposed to higher noise levels than currently allowed in factories after just five hours’ listening.

EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, said the scientists had now clearly signalled “cause for concern” and she would be organising a conference early next year with governments, the music industry and consumers “to discuss the way forward”.

Ms Kuneva commented: “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.”

Meanwhile the Commission today offered some helpful advice – turn down the volume, or, if possible, set the machine’s maximum usable volume at a lower level to save the ears while retaining the satisfaction of turning the music up full.

Officials say the problems of exposure to “leisure noise” are not new, but sales of personal music players have been soaring recently. In the last four years, almost 250 million “portable audio devices” are estimated to have been sold, as well as up to 165 million MP3 players.

Between 50 million and 100 million people in the EU may be listening to portable music players on a daily basis.

One thing today’s study does not address is the other risk to the personal music generation – a thump from their neighbours on trains and in streets from irritating noise “leakage” from their high volume music.

A Commission statement simply observed: “Environmental sounds to which the general public is exposed – such as noise from traffic, construction, aircraft or from the neighbourhood – can be very irritating but are in most cases not loud enough to harm hearing.”