EU considers noise warning on mp3 players

Europe-wide limits on noise levels from mp3 players were urged today – but consumers will be able to turn up the volume as much as they like.

Scientists say the quality of music reproduction at high levels on tiny players is now so good that more and more people are turning up the volume in their ear pieces – risking permanent hearing damage.

That has prompted the European Commission to demand a single decibel standard be agreed across the EU and regulated by fitting a maximum noise default setting which can be over-ridden.

But EU consumer affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva insisted today that loud music fans will still be free to exceed the recommended safety level if they wish.

“We are not imposing noise limits,” she said. “We are asking the industry and the EU’s body for standardising to look at the best ways of tackling this issue”.

She went on: “It’s easy to push up the sound levels on your mp3 player to damagingly-loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport.

“And the evidence is that young people in particular – who listen to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week, have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk.”

The Commissioner warned it would take years for hearing damage to show, by which time it was too late.

She said sorting out the new standards, based on scientific evidence of potential noise damage, could take up to two years.

“These standards make small technical changes to players so that by default, normal use is safe.

“If consumers chose to over-ride the default settings they can, but there will be clear warnings so they know the risk they are taking. The warnings can be either on the music player screens or on the packaging.”

The director general of DigitalEurope, Bridget Cosgrave, said: “Consumers' safety has the highest priority for the digital technology industry.

“DigitalEurope welcomes the approach of the European Commission by using a science-driven process for development of standards. It is important that users have accurate information in order to make informed choices about how they enjoy personal music.

“We look forward to working with the Commission and standards bodies to serve consumer interests”.

A report from the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks 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.

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.

Safe use of personal music players depends on exposure times and volume levels and 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.

The Commission now says that, at 80 decibels, exposure should be limited to 40 hours a week. At 89 decibels, exposure should not exceed five hours a week.

Officials say the problems of exposure to “leisure noise” are not new but sales of personal music players have been soaring recently. In the past 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.