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http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/1255961.html

BRUSSELS -- Now hear this, if you still can: The European Union said Monday it wants makers of popular digital music players to recommend users turn the volume down to preserve their hearing.

The EU's Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said experts and industry will together draft tougher standards to limit hearing loss.

"If you want to enjoy your favorite songs in 20 or 30 years time, turn the volume down," Kuneva said.

Action is necessary because there is cause for concern over health risks, especially to younger people, she said.

An EU scientific advisory body says that between 2.5 million and 10 million Europeans could suffer hearing loss from listening to MP3 players at unsafe volumes - over 89 decibels - for more an hour daily for at least five years.

The EU's executive commission said the maximum sound levels of players now being sold range between 80 and 115 decibels. Using different earphones could add to those levels by up to 9 decibels. Above 120 decibels is equivalent to the level of noise generated by an airplane taking off.

"The use of personal music players at high volume settings over a sustained time can lead to permanent hearing damage," said Kuneva. "We need to make sure consumers, particularly young people, are aware of these risks."

Kuneva said the new standards would see new players include a maximum sound level default at 80 decibels. However users could still switch that default off if they wanted to.

She said the risk of hearing damage also depended on the length of time users listen to music and urged manufacturers to beef up health warnings with players sold, either in instruction manuals or on the product itself.

Manufacturers welcomed the move, but said they would have to study the best way on how to issue better health warnings.

Bridget Cosgrave, director general of DigitalEurope, said the safety of consumers "remains our highest priority."

DigitalEurope represents digital technology associations and companies that do business in Europe, including Sony, Panasonic and Apple, makers of the industry leading iPod.

Regulators are expected to finalize the new standards over the next year, Kuneva said.

Apple has already moved in recent years to upgrade software and iPods to limit volume levels after France passed a law capping sound to 100 decibels for music players.

The company also ships a warning with each iPod that cautions "permanent hearing loss may occur if earphones or headphones are used at high volume."

Sales of digital players has jumped in recent years, and some 50 to 100 million people are believed to listen to them on a daily basis, the EU says.

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

people can switch default off, we're still happy

 

[pj]

Seems pretty reasonable. I think people don't really know how loud they're listening to things, and since you can turn it off, people can still be stupid if they want to.

 

[Ceres]

Seems pretty reasonable. I think people don't really know how loud they're listening to things, and since you can turn it off, people can still be stupid if they want to.

What?

 

[tedtropy]

Dorks to boost about the fact that they can now "turn off the safety and crank their MP3 players to 11". Also, lose hearing.

What?

EU to set limits on HD graphical fidelity. Must bypass safety prompt to exceed 720p.

 

[KHarvey16]

Free pair of IEM's with every MP3 player purchase!

 

[Anasui Kishibe]

well freedom of choice is a good thing innit

 

[valkillmore]

well freedom of choice is a good thing innit

Quiet. I mean Quite.

 

[pj]

What?

SEEMS PRETTY REASONABLE. I THINK PEOPLE DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW LOUD THEY'RE LISTENING TO THINGS, AND SINCE YOU CAN TURN IT OFF, PEOPLE CAN STILL BE STUPID IF THEY WANT TO.

 

[Ceres]

EU to set limits on HD graphical fidelity. Must bypass safety prompt to exceed 720p.

pj325is got it though obviously a joke that works better in an actual verbal conversation about this

 

[Keyser Soze]

But...

 

[Zyzyxxz]

I'm all for it, whats the point of listening to music so loud everyone else can hear you when they shouldn't be.

How can you hear anything yourself?

 

[yoopoo]

There's already a volume limit from EU on mp3 players, ie;

S9 http://www.anythingbutipod.com/forum/showthread.php?t=45866
itouch http://forums.techarena.in/portable-devices/1243184.htm

 

[Aselith]

SEEMS PRETTY REASONABLE. I THINK PEOPLE DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW LOUD THEY'RE LISTENING TO THINGS, AND SINCE YOU CAN TURN IT OFF, PEOPLE CAN STILL BE STUPID IF THEY WANT TO.

He couldn't here you cause the music was so loud. Thanks for speaking up.

 

[GoldenEye 007]

I'm all for it, whats the point of listening to music so loud everyone else can hear you when they shouldn't be.

How can you hear anything yourself?

That's fine and dandy, but do you really need a regulation/law/whatever to tell you that? Really?

 

[Aselith]

That's fine and dandy, but do you really need a regulation/law/whatever to tell you that? Really?

People in European nations are incapable of self-control. Thank god for Mama EU.

 

[btkadams]

i wish i knew what was too loud on my ipod. is 75% volume too loud? i guess it depends ont he music. my music is really compressed so it might be louder.

 

[zoku88]

People in European nations are incapable of self-control. Thank god for Mama EU.

I think it's actually kinda hard to know what level of volume is damaging to your ears. I mean, it's easy when it causes you pain, but it is a frequent occurrence that ppl play at the max volume that doesn't cuz them pain, which probably also damages the ear over time.

 

[KHarvey16]

There's actually a practical problem in play here as well. You can't really limit the music volume experienced by the user at the device.

 

[NetMapel]

Good. Not only is loud music bad for your own hearing, it also disturbs everybody around you. It's not the government's fault that people lack self-control which now forces the government to regulate this...

 

[mrkgoo]

What's the deal on in-ear canal isolating earphones? ARe they better or worse for you if you keep them down. I listen to my iPhone at approximately 50% due to in-ear canals.

 

[yankeeforever2]

Thank god the US has the 1st Amendment, it states no volume limits in the bill of rights, right?

 

[mrkgoo]

There's actually a practical problem in play here as well. You can't really limit the music volume experienced by the user at the device.

Well, this is just asking to set the default limit to 80 db. Just have a user function to disable the max if they need to (for use on external speakers for instance.

 

[cntr]

What's the deal on in-ear canal isolating earphones? ARe they better or worse for you if you keep them down. I listen to my iPhone at approximately 50% due to in-ear canals.

Your in-ear headphones don't have issues with volume − they do have other issues, like causing ear-wax build up and so

 

[KHarvey16]

What's the deal on in-ear canal isolating earphones? ARe they better or worse for you if you keep them down. I listen to my iPhone at approximately 50% due to in-ear canals.

I believe they're thought to be better, since a good chunk of the volume on traditional headphones is just overcoming ambient noise. With IEM's you can listen at lower volumes due to their isolation capability.

 

[Alucard]

Anyone else annoyed by people who listen to their earphones megaloud in elevators, likely just to get attention? I see no need whatsoever to listen to music so loudly.

 

[KHarvey16]

Well, this is just asking to set the default limit to 80 db. Just have a user function to disable the max if they need to (for use on external speakers for instance.

But to measure 80dB of volume you need something attached. 80dB on one pair of headphones could be much louder or quieter on another pair.

 

[yankeeforever2]

Anyone else annoyed by people who listen to their earphones megaloud in elevators, likely just to get attention? I see no need whatsoever to listen to music so loudly.

or the dude who walks into class late with his head phones blaring, even does it when there is a test.

 

[Ceres]

I think it's actually kinda hard to know what level of volume is damaging to your ears. I mean, it's easy when it causes you pain, but it is a frequent occurrence that ppl play at the max volume that doesn't cuz them pain, which probably also damages the ear over time.

There's actually a pretty good gauge of just what decibel starts damaging your hearing. The issues are really just ignorance and the general population not having anything to measure it on a regular basis.
I try to be good about it as I'm pretty much guaranteed to face hearing loss as I get older and don't want to make it even worse. I already have problems with being able to understand people when I have to deal with background noise.

 

[Kozak]

That's fine and dandy, but do you really need a regulation/law/whatever to tell you that? Really?

Some people definitely do.

 

[gundamzeta209]

People in European nations are incapable of self-control. Thank god for Mama EU.

I guess next on the plate is regulating toilet paper use to make sure citizens aren't wasting paper in the NEW Green economy. Two sheets to wipe or Jail time!

 

[Fun Factor]

I guess next on the plate is regulating toilet paper use to make sure citizens aren't wasting paper in the NEW Green economy. Two sheets to wipe or Jail time!

The EU is probably way ahead of you on that

 

[mrkgoo]

But to measure 80dB of volume you need something attached. 80dB on one pair of headphones could be much louder or quieter on another pair.

Obviously they're not going to test everything, but probably just invoke a the default 'with default headphones' deal. I guess it's better than nothing.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

That's fine and dandy, but do you really need a regulation/law/whatever to tell you that? Really?

if there is no need to listen to music at insane level volumens why not?

The only people who will complain are teenagers who think they are cool by blasting it full on.

 

[Aselith]

if there is no need to listen to music at insane level volumens why not?

The only people who will complain are teenagers who think they are cool by blasting it full on.

Well, the problem is some people replace their headphones. What is a reasonable volume level for one pair may be super quiet on another. Same for quieter mp3's. I'm not going to say this is tantamount to an attack on freedom or anything ridiculous but it's certainly not necessary. People do plenty of other shit to damage their ears and we don't need our governments to help us cross the street. Let adults be adults.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Sales of US MP3 players to increase 10%

 

[iamblades]

if there is no need to listen to music at insane level volumens why not?

The only people who will complain are teenagers who think they are cool by blasting it full on.

And people whose headphones have different sensitivity/impedance specs.

This kind of regulation is impossible to enforce when the sensitivity on common headphones can vary by more than 30 dBs, and impedance can vary by a couple of orders of magnitude.

As long as it really easy to disable it's not a huge deal though.

 

[Poimandres]

Well, the problem is some people replace their headphones. What is a reasonable volume level for one pair may be super quiet on another. Same for quieter mp3's. I'm not going to say this is tantamount to an attack on freedom or anything ridiculous but it's certainly not necessary. People do plenty of other shit to damage their ears and we don't need our governments to help us cross the street. Let adults be adults.

Exactly this. My old Sony player, for example, went plenty loud enough with the stock (shitty) ear buds. But using a decent set of headphones it was not nearly as loud as I would like.

I was burnt by an artificial restriction on volume, and it pissed me off each and every time I used the player.

 

[Kurtofan]

Very good move
Very loud mp3 destroys ears and annoys people

 

[Raistlin]

There's actually a practical problem in play here as well. You can't really limit the music volume experienced by the user at the device.

Sure you can, either digitally (I'd rather not), or at the amp stage.

But to measure 80dB of volume you need something attached. 80dB on one pair of headphones could be much louder or quieter on another pair.

Didn't you even read the bolded parts of the OP?

 

[mrkgoo]

Exactly this. My old Sony player, for example, went plenty loud enough with the stock (shitty) ear buds. But using a decent set of headphones it was not nearly as loud as I would like.

I was burnt by an artificial restriction on volume, and it pissed me off each and every time I used the player.

I think the point is, it's just a default max. Of course different headphones are different, but you can't control everything. By having the default max at 80 db for the default headphones, it probably helps to prevent hearing damage for a bulk of the consumer base that's stupid enough to listen to stuff too loud to begin with (and perhaps to stupid to not figure how to turn it off). Better than not, I say.

 

[KHarvey16]

Sure you can, either digitally (I'd rather not), or at the amp stage.

Didn't you even read the bolded parts of the OP?

What I mean is a specific signal amplitude will not translate to the same specific volume on all headphones. And sure, I saw the bolded parts, but acknowledging the problem doesn't make it go away for them. I think recommendations and advisories are fine, and then the problem I'm talking about really doesn't matter, but any suggestion of laws or legal regulations is pretty silly given the inability to be sure a specific volume is heard by the user.

 

[-COOLIO-]

good idea, i dont know why it took so long, i try to play my music as quietly as possible but i have a feeling keeping my music just above street noise will still eff my ears up :\

 

[Raistlin]

What I mean is a specific signal amplitude will not translate to the same specific volume on all headphones. And sure, I saw the bolded parts, but acknowledging the problem doesn't make it go away for them. I think recommendations and advisories are fine, and then the problem I'm talking about really doesn't matter, but any suggestion of laws or legal regulations is pretty silly given the inability to be sure a specific volume is heard by the user.

It's pretty simple really. They can just base the 80dB vis a vis the average impedance of cans on the market right now. Obviously there's going to be some variance based on your particular phones, but the difference will not be substantial enough to put people at risk.

 

[iamblades]

It's pretty simple really. They can just base the 80dB vis a vis the average impedance of cans on the market right now. Obviously there's going to be some variance based on your particular phones, but the difference will not be substantial enough to put people at risk.

But it will be substantial enough to make it impossible to run high impedance/low sensitivity phones. Portable devices already don't have enough power to power many mid-high end phones, the last thing we need is device manufacturers using these regulations as an excuse to further skimp on their amps.

 

[Raistlin]

But it will be substantial enough to make it impossible to run high impedance/low sensitivity phones. Portable devices already don't have enough power to power many mid-high end phones, the last thing we need is device manufacturers using these regulations as an excuse to further skimp on their amps.

from one of the two bolded parts of the OP

Kuneva said the new standards would see new players include a maximum sound level default at 80 decibels. However users could still switch that default off if they wanted to.

 

[KHarvey16]

It's pretty simple really. They can just base the 80dB vis a vis the average impedance of cans on the market right now. Obviously there's going to be some variance based on your particular phones, but the difference will not be substantial enough to put people at risk.

It would really be a combination of risk and usability to me. Sure a set of headphones that was much more efficient could exceed the recommended levels, but a set that was much less efficient and required more juice could be pretty unusable in certain circumstances. To me it seems a little silly to hold IEMs and cans, for instance, to the same standards since while from a health perspective they are the same, in practical use they aren't.

Again though these sorts of considerations are pretty meaningless unless we're talking legally enforceable restrictions here. Recommendations and defeatable clamps are fine.

 

[nubbe]

Don't worry so much people.... EU will have standards for headphones too.

 

[Always-honest]

totally optional

 

[Alx]

People in European nations are incapable of self-control. Thank god for Mama EU.

It's one of the cases where European legislation makes more sense than national legislation... how can you have a free market if some products are authorized in some countries and not in others ? Why would a country want a specific norm for mp3 player volume, is it really something cultural ?
This rule is about safety and security, it's only natural that it's applied to the whole union.