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The EU commission wants a set limit on the maximum volume on all MP3 & MP4 players which are sold within the EU. These limits will apply to the Apple iPod range

The EU proposals follow after the latest report published in 2009 that highlighted that up to 10 million citizens in the EU are in danger of permanent hearing loss as a result of listening to loud music for long periods of time

Experts at the EU Commission are pushing for the default maximum volume to be at 85 decibels. However consumers would be able to bypass this default limit and increase the volume to a maximum threshold of 100 decibels.

In January 2010, an eight week consultation of all EU standardization groups started on these proposals to limit volume. The commission hopes that a final agreement could be reached within 12 weeks

Perturbing results were brought to light at research facilities where some MP3 players were tested by researchers. A number of of the MP3 players had a maximum volume level of 120 decibels, which is equal to a jet aircraft taking off. This is the issue that the EU intends to tackle, as currently no set safety default volume level applies.

However MP3 player manufacturers have to by law, include information about risks in their instruction manuals. For all practical purposes though, nobody reads these, and it doesn’t actually stop the consumer from increasing the volume to maximum. What’s more,a study has indicated that deafness amongst younger people is increasing as a direct result of the use of listing to loud music on earphones.

MP3 players are perceived as being more dangerous than CD players or the ‘Walkman’ because they can store many hours of music and have a long battery life, which allows users to listen to them continuously for long periods without a break. Often while driving when the volume is very high to drown out outside noise. Over time the resulting injury to hearing can be similar that seen in previous years caused by industrial noise.

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