EU Seeks to Regulate MP3 Volume

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Audioholics beware. The days of blasting your iPods and your Zunes at ear piercing volumes may just be over.  Why you may ask? Well that’s what the Powers of Be at the European Commission have decided. The European Commission has issued new volume standards that ensure that the MP3 touting generation don’t end up losing their hearing while grooving to their favourite tunes. This means that now companies that manufacture music players  like Apple, Sony and Creative have to make small technical changes to their devices that will ensures they don’t exceed the programmed safe volume.

However this new standard will not be adopted immediately as the European Commission is required to follow a 24-month consultation procedure with scientists, the music industry and of course the all important consumer.

So what made the European Commission take such a step? Well according to the findings of an EU scientific body, around 5 to 10 percent of MP3 users risk permanent hearing loss if they listen to their devices at high volumes for more than 1 hour per day, each week over a period of 5 years.

Says European Union Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva:

“The evidence is that particularly young people, who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week, have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk”.

While there is one school of thought that believes that the EC has no right to regulate the public’s music habits,  I personally think this is a good step. Especially since now MP3 players are not just restricted to adults, as every kid on the block has a personal music player and they may not know better.