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September 07, 2006
Commuters warned over deafening MP3 players
(The Herald Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) DEAFNESS campaigners attempted to alert Scottish commuters to the dangers of listening to their MP3 players at high volumes yesterday by performing a series of tests on their playing levels.
Volunteers from RNID, formerly the Royal National Institute for the Deaf, found that in a random sample of people interviewed in Glasgow's Central Station who were listening to personal music devices, the majority were playing them at volumes that could potentially cause long-term hearing damage.
The charity is calling for clearer warnings to be placed on the packaging of MP3 players such as Apple's iPod in an effort to raise awareness of the risks entailed by listening to loud music for extended periods.
Its researchers found that 58per cent of 16 to 30-year-olds were completely unaware of any risk to their hearing from using MP3 players, while 79per cent of people in the same age group had never seen a warning outside the packaging of a portable audio player.
Dr John Low, RNID's chief executive, said: "We know that young people are at risk from losing their hearing prematurely by listening to loud music for too long on MP3 players. MP3 player manufacturers have a responsibility to make their customers aware of the risks."
Guidelines set by the European Union limit the volume of portable audio players to 100 decibels. However, users have been able to modify them using programs that can be downloaded from the internet to play at the higher volumes allowed in other continents.
Meanwhile, Apple is gearing up to launch a film download service via its iTunes service.
Will Findlater, news editor at gadget magazine Stuff, said success would hinge on getting the price and quality right.
"Movie downloads in general are exciting because it is doing the same thing for films that MP3 did for music. It is creating simple, fast access, " he said.
Apple already offers TV shows and music videos for download direct to iPods or Mac computers.
The company refused to release further details about next week's announcement.
A spokeswoman said: "Apple doesn't comment on rumour or speculation."
Copyright 2006 Newsquest Media Group Source: Financial Times Information Limited - Europe Intelligence Wire.
(source: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2006/09/07/1869682.htm)
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