“Jeff Hurst, 24, and Gianni Lee, 19, love their music so much they listen to it on their iPods for hours – maybe too many hours,’ Shirley Wang reports for Hearing Loss News and Reviews. “Hearing experts wonder whether the frequent use of these devices, particularly with the inserts that sit within the ear, are contributing to noise-induced hearing loss. ‘The incidence of hearing loss is underappreciated,’ said Thomas Willcox, associate professor in otolaryngology at Thomas Jefferson University. ‘We’re going to have a boom of this population because of the increased exposures that previous generations haven’t had.'”
MacDailyNews Take: Previous generations? Hasn’t the Walkman been around for over 26 years now?
Wang continues, “Willcox has seen several teenage patients in the last year whose parents brought them in complaining that their kids listened to the television very loudly and didn’t respond when they were told to turn it down. The parents wanted to know if their kids were just being typical teenagers or if they had a hearing problem. ‘They don’t have ear disease,’ said Willcox. ‘The ultimate risk factor is that they’re using their iPods frequently.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: In related news, jabbing scissors into your eyeballs can cause blindness. In all seriousness, though, be kind to your ears and keep the volume down on your iPod and any other device that makes sound, so that you’ll be able to hear well for your whole life. It isn’t an iPod issue, it’s a volume issue; making your ears ring is not a good idea.
Related MacDailyNews articles:
London bombing victim’s hearing ‘saved by his Apple iPod earphones’ according to doctors – July 11, 2005
What?! I’m assembling my lawyers and SUING APPLE NOW! This is criminal neglect of the worst kind!
In other news, swallowing bleach makes you ill.
Steve Jobs, my lawyers are coming to get you!
Do you think journalists automatically get paid more when an article contains the word ipod?
In other news…being an idiot has been found to be detrimental to society. AMERICA DOOMED!!
hmm.. if i plug my white earbuds into the tv at watch the OC at full volume..who do i sue
a)Apple
b)Sony (Walkman creator)
c)Toshiba (TV)
d)Fox (The OC)
Wow.. a real American quagmire..
The real problem is that our cities are so loud. If I want to hear my iPod over the subway noise, traffic noise, construction noise, etc, I need to crank up the volume. If I want it to blot out that noise completely, I need it even louder.
I guess I won’t have to worry about this…my 9-month old $400 iPod died yesterday! 🙁
or alternatively in extreme circumstances your ipod headphones can serve the opposite purpose
survivor of the London Bus Bomb:
“Tad Grglewiecz CIVIL ENGINEER FROM CRICKLEWOOD, NORTH LONDON,52
Doctors told him his hearing was saved by his iPod earphones.”
source:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/this_britain/article298304.ece
Ummm, here’s an idea, STOP PLAYING YOUR MUSIC SO LOUD!!!
In NYC, there are so many idiots listening to music at such a high volume that the rest of the subway/bus can hear them.
Is it a wonder they are going deaf? I’m tired of stupid people not taking responsibility for their own actions.
In other news, the world is round.
1. Try lower volume and realize you can get used to it and maybe even hear your music more clearly after all.
2. Pick phones that isolate outside noise without needing high volume. Lots of ways this can be done to different degrees.
3. Bonus: not getting mugged if you choose non-Apple buds!
Smart Guy, the standard warranty lasts a year… take it in to an Apple Store, or call the support line. You may be pleasantly surprised how much Apple is willing to help solve your problems with your iPod.
Of course, if it’s dead because you sent it through the laundry or something equally boneheaded and preventable, well, perhaps a name change is in order…
In other news, gorging on Krispy Kremes can damage your arteries. Someone alert Rob Glaser immediately!
Sony had a disclaimer years ago to the effect that “high volume settings can damage your ears” duh. This is nothing new just another dum dum writer looking for something to grab the publics attention, pure journalistic sensationalism at its poorest.
Apple have the same disclaimer too I believe
Whew… and I thought maybe MDN (and readers) would try and spin the two stories and somehow make it seem like the iPod is good for your ears.
Anything along those lines would be hypocrisy.
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Whew… and I thought maybe MDN (and readers) would try and spin the two stories and somehow make it seem like the iPod is good for your ears.
Anything along those lines would be hypocrisy.
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Whew… and I thought maybe MDN (and readers) would try and spin the two stories and somehow make it seem like the iPod is good for your ears.
Anything along those lines would be hypocrisy.
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Yea, what’s with this iPods can damage your hearing. Use any device with headphones that makes sound and crank it to the Max and you will damage your hearing. Not just on iPods. The iPod does have a very good volume controller on it. And if you use Apples remote headphones set it to has a volume control on it. So for the masses just keep the volume down and not just on your iPod.
This is a dumb article that trys to target the iPod as the only player that would make you deaf using a set of headphones. Like it’s Apple’s fault for unresponsible people cranking the volume to the Max wearing there headphones. You can ruin your hearing on any portable player going back to an FM radio wearing headphones.
I’m 46 and I’ve been jammin’ to loud rock music piped into my head through earphones since 1976, before the Walkman even came out. I rocked out with my Astratune, which was baskically a small car cassette player mated to a rechargable battery wrapped in a soft cordura case that was strapped to your chest and the tunes were fed to your ears through a stethoscope style headset. I gave snow skiing and skate boarding a whole new dimension.
Back then I was told I’d damage my hearing and I’ve been hearing this same old tired lame argument ever since. I’m still rockin’ with the volume up on my iPods and I can still hear just fine. Go figure!
What a flippin’ crock.
I remember a lot of similar stories back when portable cassette players started to sell like crazy.
Same old news different people/objects.
MacDailyNews doesn’t even try to hide the fact that it cannot but follow in lockstep with whatever Apple does or says. Whoever writes the ‘takes’ on issues for this website clearly hasn’t any equanimity.
Keep on rockin’ Old Rocker!
Sly, if you can put down that crack pipe long enough, come over to my house, I have invited some 6th graders over for bangers and spotted dick.
“The real problem is that our cities are so loud. If I want to hear my iPod over the subway noise, traffic noise, construction noise, etc, I need to crank up the volume. If I want it to blot out that noise completely, I need it even louder.” – mrboma
The only real way you are going to get around a high ambient noise level is to purchase a good set of padded earphones. Not a stylish solution, but it works. You’ll actually be able to hear more from your music at lower volumes than trying to drown out the background racket.
This problem became evident about 15 years ago when hearing tests were given to young adults that listened to music in their portable music players such as the Sony Walkman. Many of them had the same hearing as people 65 – 70 years of age.
According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, 1998), the maximum exposure time at 85 dBA is 8 hours. Long-term exposure to this sound level will usually result in hearing loss. Your average vacuum cleaner puts out this much noise. Acceptable exposure times at 110 dBA drops the maximum exposure to a mere minute-and-a-half. Power saws, leaf blowers, and rock concerts fall into this catagory.
It’s ironic, but at work I have to be aware of noise levels and provide hearing protection when 85dBA is exceeded. These same people I am attempting to protect, however, go home and listen to music in their cars. They crank up the volume so much that you can hear it a full city block away. I shudder to think about what it sounds like at point-blank range.
I read somewhere that Steve Jobs had them increase the volume range on the iPod because he is a bit hard of hearing himself. Maybe a few too many Dylan concerts sitting right in front of the speakers?
Anyway, I am glad they give you the option of turning them up because some of the stuff i listen to can be pretty soft and so I need the volume to be able to catch everything.
Uh, so running iPodlinux so I can have the volume up MUCH higher is a bad idea then?
The 1st Gen were loud enough until the stupid french law thing. Now it’s far too low, especially annoying when you have an mp3 which isn’t quite so loud and you’re not at a computer to normalize it.
My iPod goes to 11. That’s one louder, innit?
psha i never respond when im freakin watchin tv and i also listen loud… Maybe TV is to blame?
I didnt even own an iPod when i was doing that, nor any other music device.. what a bunch of crap.
To all who say the hearing loss is a bunch crap – I wonder how many of you will be running to the hearing-aid stores for batteries?…
Similar things WERE said about the Walkman at it’s height of popularity. The Boomer generation is grabbing for hearing-aids at a far younger age than their parents.
I wonder why?….
What?!?!
If users in cities try to drown out environmental noise by raising the iPod’s volume over it then it is possible that they will damage their ears. I use in-ear headphones partly because they block out most environmental noise, letting me listen to music at low volume levels.
Nigel Tufnel, why don’t you make ten the loudest setting?
Umm, Yeah.
hey old rocker. I had my astratune strapped to mu lge like a holster and skied listening to elvis costello and the ramones while videotapoing with my portable betamax.
sans poles.
Raced the GS and the Super G.
Bjorn Tooski