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Some Children's Headphones Raise Concerns of Hearing Loss, Report Says (go.com)

Posted by msmash on from the what's-happening dept.

Some headphones marketed for children may not restrict enough noise for young ears. From a report on ABC: The Wirecutter, a technology products review website (owned by the New York Times), tried out 30 different children's headphones for style, fit and safety by using both a plastic model ear and a few real children. "There's no governing board that oversees this," Lauren Dragan, the Headphone Editor at The Wirecutter, told "Good Morning America" in an interview that aired today. Dragan added that the headphones for children all claim to limit volume to around 85 decibels. Sound below the 85 decibel mark for a maximum of eight hours is considered safe, according to the World Health Organization. The Wirecutter report found that some of these headphones emit sound higher than the 85 decibel mark. The full report here.

77 comments

  1. cheap chinese crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    doesn't work as advertised... news at 11.

    1. Re:cheap chinese crap by cayenne8 · · Score: 1
      What children's headphones?

      Exactly when and how young are people planting headphones on kids?

      Are they talking younger than teenagers listening to music?

      If so, WTF is a young child needing with earphones....aren't they out playing or something?

      --
      Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
    2. Re:cheap chinese crap by gnick · · Score: 4, Informative

      aren't they out playing or something?

      You're at least 20 years too late for that. Playing outside is too dangerous for our modern youngsters. Now we can just VR playing outside from the safety of our padded rooms.

      I think there were only a handful of my late-teen/early-twenty years where I was in danger of playing my music beyond the pain threshold. Most people (even most kids) are smart enough for the "If it hurts, stop it," rule.

      --
      He's getting rather old, but he's a good mouse.
    3. Re:cheap chinese crap by thegarbz · · Score: 1

      If so, WTF is a young child needing with earphones....aren't they out playing or something?

      You didn't play outside in the park? Share some music with your friend in the sunshine, one earbud in each ear? You're being quite presumptuous for someone who sounds like their outside playing life was boring as crap without a decent soundtrack.

    4. Re:cheap chinese crap by Quirkz · · Score: 1

      Your old man bias is showing in half a dozen different ways here.

      Kids as young as 3 are capable of wearing headphones effectively. No, it's probably not for music. And no, kids can't always be outside.

      --
      The Quirkz Handbook of Self-Improvement for People Who Are Already Pretty Okay
    5. Re:cheap chinese crap by OrangeTide · · Score: 2

      Exactly when and how young are people planting headphones on kids?

      Most of these manufacturers have products targeted for kids as young as 2-3 years.

      In my day parents had to listen to repetitive ear-worm songs from Barney, Raffi, etc. But now you can slap some headphones on the baby and avoid the horrible nightmare of children's music.

      --
      “Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
    6. Re:cheap chinese crap by Anne+Thwacks · · Score: 1
      How loud it is in the headphones depends on the output of the amplifier, which depends on how loud the volume is turned up as well as the efficiency of the phones, and a lot of other things as well.

      I find a lot of the music I have on my phone is barely audible at the volume limit that requires me to press a button to OK it in case I go deaf. My headphones have good sound quality but presumably are not very sensitive, but the volume of the original recordings clearly varies by over 20dB.

      There is clearly no international standard for how many millivolts produces how many dB, and never will be, because it is a stupid idea. However, not as stupid as the report that led to this article. If you need a plan for how to cope with the stupid children of stupid parents this is NOT it! I am pretty sure that very few headphones are as loud as the London Underground trains, but children regularly travel by train.

      Disclaimer: I have spent the last week measuring the noise in the server room.

      --
      Sent from my ASR33 using ASCII
    7. Re:cheap chinese crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most people (even most kids) are smart enough for the "If it hurts, stop it," rule.

      Most, but certainly not all. I used to live down the street from a high school and one kid had his car radio so loud it hurt my ears standing in my lawn as he drove by. I guess a life of hearing loss is what it takes to be cool now.

    8. Re:cheap chinese crap by sims+2 · · Score: 0

      What? A lot of cheap headphones don't have good enough drivers to be loud enough to damage your hearing. I would want to buy headphones that I can hear DVDs with. Remember how DVDs would play at darned near a whisper even with the volume cranked up to full? Yeah you can't watch those with crappy headphones that don't have volume.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    9. Re:cheap chinese crap by epyT-R · · Score: 2

      using headphones and playing outside are not mutually exclusive.

    10. Re:cheap chinese crap by TheSync · · Score: 1

      How loud it is in the headphones depends on the output of the amplifier

      If you are sneaky, you could have a circuit that limits the voltage amplitude coming into the headphones. This could be stupid dumb (a diode limiter) or something more complex like an active gain control.

      However I suspect most kid headphones are assuming the input maxes out at 2 VRMS, and use resistor dividers to reduce the voltage into the speakers. This dumb solution means that sometimes kids might not be able to hear overly quiet videos (such as on Kids Youtube) where audio loudness is not well managed.

    11. Re:cheap chinese crap by sexconker · · Score: 1

      The rule is "If it's too loud, you're too old.".

      Bottom line is headphones are bad for your hearing. Children's headphones shouldn't even be a thing.

    12. Re:cheap chinese crap by sjames · · Score: 1

      It's much too dangerous to let kids play outside. They might be kidnapped by the police or child services "for their own good".

    13. Re:cheap chinese crap by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Headphones are perfectly fine, as long as you either get ones that isolate outside noise, or only listen in already quiet areas. Trying to block outside noise by turning up your music is what damages hearing.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    14. Re:cheap chinese crap by TheRaven64 · · Score: 2

      There was a lawsuit against Apple for the original iPod for a similar reason. Steve Jobs was mostly deaf, so insisted that he be able to hear the sound, so the maximum volume was loud enough to be dangerous. Airline in-flight entertainment systems are the worst: they give you crappy headphones so that you have to turn the volume to max to hear anything if you use them, but if you buy a decent set of noise-cancelling ones then you want the volume down at around 20-40%. This is all fine, until they do an announcement, when they pause the movie and slam the volume up to 100% with no warning.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
    15. Re:cheap chinese crap by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You're confusing good and loud. Yes, cheap headphones can get loud enough to damage hearing, they may sound like shit when doing so, but that is a different matter.

  2. It's everywhere by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How loud other people raise the volume on headphones, cars, movie theaters and live concerts. I don't go anywhere without my earplugs designed to attenuate 20 decibels. My forced classical music training during my school years, yes I was in a marching band and went to band camps, gave me great appreciation to enjoyment of music which I intend to do by protecting my hearing.

  3. Wish they'd looked into this sooner by wjcofkc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    When I was a kid back in late 80's early 90's, I was constantly listening to Megadeth on my Walkman with the volume cranked up all the way. I paid the price for that. Now in my adult life people get frustrated when I can't hear them. I can easily trace the decline in my hearing back to my Walkman days. As near as I can tell, no one at the time thought it was serious matter at all.

    I still listen to Megadeth though.

    --
    Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    1. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by I75BJC · · Score: 1

      Actually, the Warning was sounded and your generation as a whole choose to ignore the warning. I was a young adult during those years and remember the Warning and the refusals. Quite typical of Young People. In my day, headphones were too expensive to wear outside.

    2. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by The-Ixian · · Score: 1

      My fellow metal brother, I am with you. I was known in high school as the fat shy kid who wore the big (circumaural) headphones all the time. I was in my own world.

      Now, after many earplug-free concerts and a lot more maximum volume listening, I too have some issues hearing people.

      I also continue to listen to Megadeth... though my tastes have shifted more toward the prog metal (mostly European) genres.

      --
      My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
    3. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess I'm lucky, my parents didn't let me listen to my music if they could hear it, and we didn't have in-ear earbuds back then. Also at some point I figured what's the point in listening to it louder if I could still hear it when it was quieter? The point of music was to be able to enjoy it not be assaulted by it. Some kids in my schoolyard also were scaring people by talking about how fragile the hair cells in the cochlea are and how they never regenerate. And this was when I was like 9 years old! So I tried to avoid damaging them due to fear of going deaf, I loved music.

    4. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Citation needed. Just curious why do you capitalize random words? Is this something all old people do?

    5. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by s.petry · · Score: 1

      Citation needed. Just curious why do you capitalize random words? Is this something all old people do?

      Yes! Blame the lack of Sound control on the Headphones! Off my lawn!

      :)

      --

      -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    6. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by wbr1 · · Score: 1

      I do not regret listening to Good Mourning/Black Friday at full blast. Even if it caused damage. I am in my 40s now, and just this year I was at shows for GnR, Sabbath, Tool, Alice in Chains,Mastodon, and Gojira, all ranging from loud to very loud. All with no hearing protection. I still hear well enough, and will enjoy it while it lasts. I was gifted with exceptional hearing range though, and can still hear much higher frequencies than others my age (but not like when I was younger).

      --
      Silence is a state of mime.
    7. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      So if there had been some kind of Parents Advisory Council telling you to turn down the volume of your Megadeth, you'd have listened? Gimme a break, that wouldn't have happened. Meekly obeying authority figures? Shah right. "If it's too loud, you're too old" was the heavy metal motto.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
    8. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by arth1 · · Score: 1

      I listened to Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Motorhead and pretty much anything loud. Including concerts. And I play electric guitar.
      Yet I lie awake at night because a neighbor snores, or the aquarium fish flips its fin at the other side of the house, or the blood coursing through my veins, or the hum of a lamp, or even cats walking across the carpet in the room above mine.
      If anything, listening to so much loud music has made me overly sensitive, and I have to sleep with ear plugs. Not that it helps when the birds start chirping outside early in the morning.

    9. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

      Now in my adult life people get frustrated when I can't hear them.

      Then get some hearing aids!

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    10. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      One notes that the bands themselves were often wearing earplugs during concerts, though....

    11. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      I bought some on Amazon awhile back, but they only spoke French.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
    12. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      A lot of my friends still refuse to wear earplugs at concerts, even REALLY GODDAMN FUCKING LOUD DEATH METAL SHOWS.

      I learned my lessen, and while my hearing is a bit damaged, I'm doing my best to not damage it any further.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    13. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by khr · · Score: 1

      generation as a whole choose to ignore the warning

      I don't know about ignoring the warning. There was no ignorance. It was more like willfully disregarding the warning because listening to music quietly is simply not cool. Not cool at all.

    14. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by operagost · · Score: 1

      HELLO? WHAT'S THAT YOU SAY, SONNY? You listen to Smegmabreath? What an odd name for a band. NOW GET OFF MY LAWN

      --

      Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
    15. Re:Wish they'd looked into this sooner by wjcofkc · · Score: 1

      Good Mourning/Black Friday

      Word. That was exactly the song I was thinking of when I wrote the OP. I find it unusual that I can also hear very high frequencies that others can't.

      --
      Brought to you by Carl's Junior.
  4. huh? by sucko · · Score: 0

    I can't hear you.

    --

    -linux... they can't *give* that shit away.

  5. This is a repeat from the 1980's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Back in the 1980s everybody had either a Sony Walkman portable tape player or some brand trying to be like the Walkman. With these portable players came lightweight headphones that most kids had playing very loudly.

    This is nothing new. It's very old news. Nothing to see here. Move along, move along.

    1. Re:This is a repeat from the 1980's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Those "kids" were like 12-20. We are putting headphones on 2-6 year olds these days. That's a pretty big difference, old man.

    2. Re:This is a repeat from the 1980's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Get off my lawn, you... you... Oh dear. I'm arguing with myself again. I must have forgotten my meds this morning. Dang-nabit!

    3. Re:This is a repeat from the 1980's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My 7 and 10 year old both have headphones so I don't have to hear their stupid you tube videos and candy crush music.

    4. Re:This is a repeat from the 1980's by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My father would slap me in the back of the head if I hung out on the computer or nintendo for too long. Then if I gave him any backtalk, he'd hit me with his belt.

      I'd bet just about anything that your kids don't appreciate how easy they have it.

  6. Want to save your hearing? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

    Buy some noise cancelling earphones. You can tell people over and over again about hearing loss but it won't matter if they can't hear that music over background noise of the noisy bus they are on.

    Noise cancelling / closed cup earphones will just make you naturally turn down the volume.

    1. Re:Want to save your hearing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also get some ear plugs. A lot of music and dance venues play much louder than 85db for prolonged periods, I presume to get the bass up to the level where you can feel it. With a good pair of ear plugs, you can still feel the bass and hear the music, with much less stress on your hearing. Why would you want to sacrifice future concerts for one concert right now?

    2. Re:Want to save your hearing? by sims+2 · · Score: 1

      Yep you have three options to deal with room noise or just one if you have shitty headphones (or earbuds).

      1. TURN UP THE VOLUME SO YOU CAN HEAR YOUR MUSIC OVER THE BUS NOISE. CHEAP.

      2. Have good noise cancelling headphones then you can listen at a lower volume and still hear your music. Expensive & batteries or an extra device to charge.

      3. Have good Isolating headphones then you can listen at a lower volume and still hear your music. Expensive.

      Kids headphones are probably on the cheap end of the spectrum.

      It's kind of like those childproof safety scissors that won't cut paper and now today everyone buys actual scissors that won't cut paper because they don't realize you can get scissors that can actually cut paper.

      --
      Minimum threshold fixed. Thanks!
    3. Re:Want to save your hearing? by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

      Also get some ear plugs. A lot of music and dance venues play much louder than 85db for prolonged periods, I presume to get the bass up to the level where you can feel it. With a good pair of ear plugs, you can still feel the bass and hear the music, with much less stress on your hearing. Why would you want to sacrifice future concerts for one concert right now?

      "A lot"? Try "all". I'd say, on average, you're hitting 105 dB SPL at a minimum in most venues and closer to 115 to 120 near the speakers.

      Another reason to wear ear plugs - your brain does some acoustic processing to deal with high volume levels (there's some multi-band audio compression via threshold shifts... it's really quite fascinating) and that's fatiguing. That's why if you go to a loud concert or club, even if you're not drinking and even if it's relatively early, you're wiped out when it's over, more so than you should be for that time of night. Wear earplugs, and you'll be a lot less tired.

    4. Re:Want to save your hearing? by another_twilight · · Score: 1

      Have a look at Etymotic plugs. I've used ER20s (looks like they are called 'Ety Plugs', now) at clubs and events for years. They do what they say - drop the volume without distortion. I can have conversations while wearing them that would have been a muted mess with the more usual foam earplugs. They aren't bad for long stays in server rooms, either.

      If you attend loud events with any regularity, and want to _keep_ being able to enjoy those events for years to come, protect your hearing.

      Caveat - no association with the company, just a satisfied customer.

    5. Re:Want to save your hearing? by Theaetetus · · Score: 1

      Have a look at Etymotic plugs. I've used ER20s (looks like they are called 'Ety Plugs', now) at clubs and events for years. They do what they say - drop the volume without distortion. I can have conversations while wearing them that would have been a muted mess with the more usual foam earplugs. They aren't bad for long stays in server rooms, either.

      If you attend loud events with any regularity, and want to _keep_ being able to enjoy those events for years to come, protect your hearing.

      Caveat - no association with the company, just a satisfied customer.

      I keep a pair of them in a small metal tube on my keychain, just in case a bar is too loud. :D

    6. Re:Want to save your hearing? by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      Howard Leight Bilsom 303. I bought a huge box back when I rode motorcycles everyday (the wind noise around a helmet is a real ear-killer), and I'm still using them for concerts. They're the best earplugs I've ever used, foam, silicone, molded, wax, you name it.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    7. Re:Want to save your hearing? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I find the in-ear headphones to do a decent job of muting background noise, so long as you use the correct rubber bit to match your ear, and they aren't expensive.

  7. Errh... by nospam007 · · Score: 2

    What?

    1. Re:Errh... by antdude · · Score: 1

      "CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?!"

      --
      Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  8. Original full report here by tolydude · · Score: 1

    http://thewirecutter.com/revie...

  9. Confucius say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If it's too loud, you're too old.

    1. Re:Confucius say... by thinkwaitfast · · Score: 1

      My 90 year old grandmother watches TV at full volume.

    2. Re: Confucius say... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no such thing as 'too old' until you are dead.

    3. Re: Confucius say... by sexconker · · Score: 0

      There is no such thing as 'too old' until you are dead.

      So, would you fuck the Queen of England? Or is she too old?

  10. The 80s just called by rrohbeck · · Score: 1

    and want their news back.

    --
    thegodmovie.com - watch it
    1. Re:The 80s just called by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      The 90s just called and want their "the *0s just called and want their * back" joke back.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    2. Re:The 80s just called by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Obligatory XKCD

  11. Pain: 120db. Damage: 85db by raymorris · · Score: 4, Informative

    > I think there were only a handful of my late-teen/early-twenty years where I was in danger of playing my music beyond the pain threshold. Most people (even most kids) are smart enough for the "If it hurts, stop it," rule.

    Hearing damage occurs from prolonged exposure to sounds over 85db. Pain starts at about 120db. So your hearing is damaged long before it's painful.

    Decibels are a logarithmic scale, 120db (pain) is over 3,000 times as much power as 85db (damage). It takes 3,000X times as many watts to cause pain as it does to cause long term damage.

    1. Re: Pain: 120db. Damage: 85db by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      What? What?

    2. Re:Pain: 120db. Damage: 85db by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 2

      I wish I would have known this when I was younger and absolutely blasted music through tiny earbuds. "It doesn't hurt, so it must be OK".

      Now I have absolutely no hearing above 16KHz, additional mid-high frequency loss in my left ear (barely able to hear things like hi-hats) and mild tinnitus. And let me tell you, it sucks major ass.

      I wear good earplugs to all concerts now, and in general any time I expect to be exposed to even moderately loud sounds.

      --
      Eat the rich.
    3. Re:Pain: 120db. Damage: 85db by TheRaven64 · · Score: 1

      I remember someone in my class getting a Walkman (back when they were still expensive and exciting). After six months, he admitted that he'd gradually been having to turn up the volume to be able to hear the music clearly. I've been hesitant around headphones since then and as a result I can still hear the bats when they fly along with me when I cycle home.

      --
      I am TheRaven on Soylent News
  12. Put a label, call it good by p51d007 · · Score: 1

    Every set of headphones should have a label... "Warning, if you are STUPID enough, to turn the volume to 11, do not come crying to us saying our headphones made you deaf. We do not reward STUPIDITY". Screw political correctness!

    1. Re:Put a label, call it good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Alternatively they could juts make 11 equivalent to 6. It's not like tehre's a unit of measure specified.

  13. what might be useful by laurencetux · · Score: 1

    somebody needs to create a set of headphones (in both normal and "sport" versions) that
    1 blocks outside noise (or filters it below danger levels))

    2 includes a way for a Guardian/Other Caretaker to send sounds into the headset (even if its a Attn! Chirp)

    3 compresses the dynamic range to cut the need to crank the volume

    4 clips the top end of volume

  14. Hearing Loss Sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Got family members with hearing problems. Probably made worse by loud music concerts, but it is mostly genetic we believe. Anyhow, it isn't a joke to have to wear hearing-aids at the age of 40. You do not want the trouble, nor do you want it for your kids.

    Best thing to do is avoid headphones and 100% avoid earbuds for kids. If they have to have headphones (like at our schools), then the only real option you have is to buy child-safe ones that reduce the volume.

  15. See EN50332 by LynnwoodRooster · · Score: 1

    It regulates maximum sensitivity of a passive headphone - and maximum SPL for a wireless headphone (or any headphone in wireless mode). It's only required in France right now - recommended in the rest of the EU, and ignored in the rest of the world. It also sets the max SPL at 100 dB.

    --
    Browsing at +1 - no ACs, I ignore their posts. So refreshing!
    1. Re:See EN50332 by KozmoStevnNaut · · Score: 1

      The problem is that devices have widely different output levels. Some mobile devices put out less than 1Vrms maximum, but headphone amps can output as high as 3Vrms. If you scale the headphone sensitivity to the mobile device, the headphone amp will play really goddamn loud, but if you scale them to the headphone amp, you will barely be able to hear anything from the mobile device.

      What should ideally be brought to market, are headphones with limiters/compressors built in, so the maximum sound level delivered through them is ~85dB. The tech already exists for the professional market for hearing protection that feeds in outside sound through front-mounted mics, and caps the maximum volume level. But it will make consumer headphones more expensive, which is probably why no one is making them.

      You could make a device that plugs in between the source and the headphones, with a calibration to the specific source and headphones, which can be set and locked by an adult. But that takes effort, and no one will probably bother to do it right.

      --
      Eat the rich.
  16. Confused about logarithmic? by raymorris · · Score: 1

    Is the "logarithmic scale" part confusing?

    An increase of 10db means it's ten times as much power. That's just the definition of decibel (deci meaning ten).

    decibels - power
    1 1
    10 10
    20 100
    30 1000
    40 10000

    Starting with the sound level that causes hearing damage, 85db, ten times as much power would be 95db. If you add ten more d, that's 105db. That means you multiply the power by 10 again (for a total of 100X as much power). 115db is 1000 times as much power.

    1. Re:Confused about logarithmic? by sexconker · · Score: 2

      You just got wooshed. I'm surprised you didn't hear it.

    2. Re:Confused about logarithmic? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      For accuracy's sake:

      dBm - power (in Watts)
      10 - 0.01
      20 - 0.1
      30 - 1
      40 - 10
      50 - 100
      60 - 1000

      dBm = 10log(p/0.001)

  17. Shocking by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is like regular news. Like, water is good but if you drink too much you can die!
    More on this after the break.

  18. Doh! by raymorris · · Score: 2

    Yes, yes I did.

  19. The m in dBm is milliwatts by raymorris · · Score: 1

    The "m" in dBm is milliwatts. So "dBm - power (in Watts)" is means "dB milliwatts in watts". Much like saying "MPH - speed (in feet per hour)".

  20. FUD by fbobraga · · Score: 1

    this post is part of a FUD campaign?

  21. LilGadgets on Volume Control Methodology by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    From LilGadgets: We've had quite a few questions about this article so here's a quick answer. We can't recreate the exact conditions of the test ran by Wirecutter so unfortunately we can't answer to the accuracy of their results and claims. What we can say is that we do industry-standard testing during production on each and every headphone with an electroacoustic test meter (the volume limiting we set is on both the internal circuitry as well as the audio drivers). We then take a large sample size post-production to once more test and ensure that the output is within the db range we specify and advertise. You can read more here: https://www.lilgadgets.com/blogs/faq/volume-testing-methodology.

    We are in contact with Wirecutter to further understand their testing and investigate how the results of their 1 test on 1 headphone could vary so greatly with the dozens of tests we run on 1000s of headphones. Perhaps we can merge some of their methodology with the audio manufacturing industry norms and create an even better method. With two young children ourselves, child safety is always our priority.

    One point we can absolutely agree on and is something that we have stressed since inception of our company is that parental monitoring is necessary at any volume, lower volume is always better, and shorter listening times are safer at any volume.