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EU Recommends Noise Limits On MP3 Players

Posted by Soulskill on from the protecting-you-from-yourself dept.

A story at the BBC notes increasing pressure from the European Commission to set standards that would limit the maximum volume on portable MP3 players. Their reasoning is that it would protect users from damaging their hearing after listening to loud music for extended periods. Quoting: "This follows a report last year warning that up to 10m people in the EU face permanent hearing loss from listening to loud music for prolonged periods. EU experts want the default maximum setting to be 85 decibels, according to BBC One's Politics Show. Users would be able to override this setting to reach a top limit of 100 decibels. ... Some personal players examined in testing facilities have been found to reach 120 decibels, the equivalent of a jet taking off, and no safety default level currently applies, although manufacturers are obliged to print information about risks in the instruction manuals. Modern personal players are seen as more dangerous than stationary players or old-fashioned cassette or disk players because they can store hours of music and are often listened to while in traffic with the volume very high to drown out outside noise."

4 of 360 comments (clear)

  1. But how to do that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    But how to do that?
    The effect used to play at 85db is not the same across all headphones.
    The small tiny ones that comes with the player normaly need less effect to reach 85db then if you get some nice big headphones with better sound.

    1. Re:But how to do that? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Because you couldn't possibly be responsible for your own behavior.

      Funny how telling someone to take responsibility for his own behavior has now become the best way to avoid taking responsibility for one's own actions.

  2. Do what we say, not what we do by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hearing loss is bad if it is caused by MP3 players, but it's okay when it's caused by police using crowd control devices against innocent civilians.

  3. +1, funny? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    SkullCandy? Really guys? Do yourself a favor and go pick up a pair of Sennheiser CX-300 II's. They will blow what you have away and only cost ~$35. SkullCandy is overpriced trash.