http://www.foreveryoungnews.com/fy/printarticle.aspx?assetId=11763

The hazards of mobile music


Published on Sep 03, 2008

Your article on air quality in the July issue of Forever Young was interesting, since so many people are out jogging or walking on smoggy days. I'd like to point out another hazard: iPods - and it's not just young people who are out with their MP3 players blaring away. Boomers and seniors enjoy listening to music when they are out and about.

The problem for many appears to be the volume. Often, if traffic is loud they crank up the music. If the person next to you can hear a buzz from your earbuds - it's too loud. It's that dual dose of noise that has hearing-loss experts worried, particularly since tuning in to personal stereo equipment is an increasingly common way to ease daily commutes.

Some suggestions:

  • Read the packaging and set the volume at 50 per cent or lower. That means safe listening for as long as you want. Even a 60-per-cent setting is safe for 18 hours in quiet settings. At 80-per-cent volume, that drops to 72 minutes.

  • Set your volume in a quiet place and resist the impulse to crank it up in noisy surroundings.

  • Remember that earbuds trap more sound than foam head-phones, so listening times should be shortened.

    Jacquie Reid

    Hamilton Branch secretary

    Canadian Hard of Hearing Association

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