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Boffins worried about MP3 players

by on14 October 2008

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Permanent hearing loss predicted


Euro boffins
have warned that listening to MP3 players for too long and too loud can cause permanent hearing loss.

In tests they found that five to ten percent of the people who listen to an MP3 player for more than one hour per day each week at a high volume risk permanent hearing loss.

If this works out correctly it means that between 2.5 million and 10 million people will be deaf as a post in five years. E.U. rules already restrict noise levels from such MP3s to 100 decibels, but the European Commission said there was no information on the long-term effects of such noise levels.

The boffins found that people who listen for only five hours per week with a volume above 89 decibels would exceed the current limits in place for noise allowed in the workplace.

If you listen to it at such levels you will suffer permanent hearing loss after five years, according to their findings.
Last modified on 15 October 2008
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