Summarized -- Protect your ears: limit iPod use - Boston.com

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2005/12/29/ 
protect_your_ears_limit_ipod_use/

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The ever-popular earbuds used with many  
iPods and other MP3 players may be more stylish than the bigger and  
bulkier earmuff-type headphones, but they may also be more damaging  
to one's hearing, according to a Northwestern professor.

"No one really knows for sure" the levels at which iPod users listen  
to music, but "what we do know is that young people like their music  
loud and seldom worry about any decline in hearing ability," Dean  
Garstecki, chairman of Northwestern's communication sciences and  
disorders department, told Reuters Health.

The earbuds commonly used by iPod listeners are placed directly into  
the ear and can boost the audio signal by as many as nine decibels --  
comparable to the difference in sound intensity between an alarm  
clock and a lawn mower, Garstecki said.

...In turning up the volume to drown out background noise, however,  
people "don't realize they may be causing some damage" to their  
hearing, Garstecki said.

...Despite this, an MTV survey conducted earlier this year revealed  
that most teens and young adults do not think hearing loss from loud  
music is a big problem, even though over half of those surveyed said  
they experienced ringing in their ears after concerts.  When told  
that the loud music may lead to lifelong hearing loss, however, most  
of the survey participants said they would consider protective  
measures in the future.

...Listeners should set their iPods and other MP3 players to sound  
levels that are no more than 60 percent of the maximum volume -- i.e.  
just over halfway between "off" and "maximum" volume -- and use their  
earbuds for no more than 30 minutes a day.

Those who use muff-style headphones at 60 percent volume can increase  
the duration to an hour a day, and those who listen at volumes  
significantly lower than 60 percent of the maximum can use their  
music players for many more hours.

...These devices, while a bit more costly and more visible than  
earbuds, partially or fully eliminate background noise so that users  
do not have to crank up the volume of their music for that purpose.

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