Some music lovers are fond of using the iPod and MP3 players because they afford them the opportunity to listen to music all round the clock through earphones. This habit however exposes them to developing hearing loss, reports Sade Oguntola.

IT all started in the late 1980s when experts began to caution music lovers about hearing loss that could potentially result from the use of their walkman or disc when those devices were patronised as a means to listen to music. Those in vogue today are however the iPod and MP3 players.

Unlike traditional headphones, these devices pump music through headphones directly into the ear canal, thus enabling the user to drone interference from other sources of sound or noise from outside.

Hearing experts are concerned that the prevalence of digital music players, especially among youths may cause hearing problems in the future. The concern stemmed from the way technology has marched on since the iPod debuted in the market. It offers a huge hard drive that is capable of carrying the widest song selection, and has a longer battery life that surpasses those of Walkman or CD players.

Researchers at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Children’s Hospital in Boston analysed iPods and other portable digital music players and found that listening to music at full volume through an iPod for more than five minutes a day using stock earphones can increase the risk of hearing loss. They also concluded that individuals could safely listen to iPods for 90 minutes a day with the supplied earphones if the volume is at 80 per cent of maximum levels without greatly increasing the risk of hearing loss.

The researchers measured specific sound levels from five portable music players, including the Apple iPod, the Apple iPod Nano, the Apple iPod Mini, the Creative Zen Micro and the SanDisk Sansa. They found no significant difference in sound levels between five of the most popular types of popular music they tested, including rock, rhythm and blues, dance, Top 40 and country.

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