MP3 Users Warned: Turn Down The Volume September 10, 2007
Read more Gadgets , Gizmodo UK , MP3 , Mobile Devices , Music
You should not be surprised and I don’t see too many of you hanging up your portable discos but, you may want to turn down you MP3 players. Or, because it’s for their health, do it for the annoying commuter next to you on the bus who thinks we enjoy their tinny audio overspill.
Over two-thirds of young people using MP3 players in the UK face premature hearing damage, according to the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID). The comments come after the charity found that more than two thirds of the 18-30 years olds surveyed have them turned up way too high. 72 of the 110 people tested were listening to them at over 85 decibels. At this level, more than an hour without a break is considered dangerous.
As sound levels go, a busy street clocks in at 70 decibels, a jackhammer at 100 and an aircraft taking off at 110 decibels.
The charity is calling on people to turn them down a bit, give your ears a well-deserved break 5 minute break from The Pet Shop Boys every hour, and invest in some in-ear, sound isolation earphones which means the volume doesn’t have to be so high. All good advice, which is probably why no one will listen.-Martin Lynch
[RNID]
Editor | Martin Lynch
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Comments
It must be a bit quiet at the RNID press office - this is the same press release they've been churning out for the past 27-odd years ever since the Walkman was launched.
Before that, they probably made some reference to noisy boom boxes, 8-track and the gramaphone.
The girl in the pic is quite nice though, so thanks for that.
A charity run by hearing people go figure!!
Rnid is a hindrance to deaf people, they produce press stuff like this to let people know "we are here give us more money"
They profit on the back of our disability!
one press release they done was "how sexy are your ears"
how embarrassing for us deaf people who a largest and rich charity supposed to represent us
In their defence, I do think this is a general issue. If you've ever had tinny arrhythmic sounds assaulting you on the tube, you'll know what I mean. I wish the headphone manufacturers would push the more comfortable "in-ear" headphones-- they allow you to have a better range of sound (much better bass), block out noise, and also if you crank them up, it doesn't bother anyone else.
If the youths don't care about their health, why should I? But loud music on buses is really becoming an annoying issue. They should be treated the same way as smoking on the bus.