UK charity wants hearing loss warnings on DAPs

Even though it may seem rather obvious that listening to loud music (whether through headphones or speakers) has the potential to cause hearing damage, apparently 58% of 16 to 30-year-old Brits are blissfully unaware of this fact, so a UK-based charitable organization is now calling on DAP manufacturers to affix more prominent warning labels to their products. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has apparently contacted all of the leading makers of MP3 players with a plea to include cigarette-type notification on all of their packaging, citing music lovers like 27-year-old "Cath" who claimed, "I was shocked when I found out that by listening to my MP3 player too loudly I could do serious damage to my hearing. If I saw a warning on the box I'd definitely take it more seriously." RNID has even set up a website called Don't Lose the Music where folks like the gentleman who sued Apple can find supposedly unbiased statistics and facts about hearing loss, along with tips -- such as turning the volume down -- that will reduce your chances of going partially or fully deaf. We're most interested in finding out how our readers feel about this issue; i.e. how far do companies need to go in order to convey the dangers of their products -- for instance, do knife manufacturers need to tell us in big bold letters that we risk cutting ourselves, or should the makers of sunglasses warn us not to stare directly into the sun?

[Via ArsTechnica]

[David @ Sep 7th 2006 12:05PM]

How bout putting "Not a dumbass" in the minimum system requirements?

[xorzisten @ Sep 7th 2006 12:09PM]

I'm very concerned, and very aware of the dangers posed to your hearing when subjected to noise and music over time.
Ive invested in noise reducing Sennheiser headphones (HD 280 PRO), so that I dont have too turn the volume up above 50% on my nano too be able too hear music in the train and other public noisy places.

Does anyone know of any headphones that combine, active and passive noise reduction ?

[le dawg du bordeaux @ Sep 7th 2006 12:12PM]

Yup good idea - we should be warned of every common sense contingency in life. Personal accountability no longer has a place in our risk adverse society.

What's next a sticker on kitchen knives "warning, sharp - could cut you"

[Shunnabunich @ Sep 7th 2006 12:13PM]

Yes on both counts. People really are that stupid, and then some. If they aren't warned about staring into the sun, they WILL do it because they have sunglasses on and think they're protected. And David, someone who's enough of a dumbass to *need* warnings like that would undoubtedly be far too stupid to realize how stupid they are. :D

[Chris @ Sep 7th 2006 12:44PM]

Uhh I live in the UK and both of my DAP's have hearing loss stickers on them, they are an iPod Video and a philips jukebox. Heck the one on the iPod was a really damned sticky label that took forever to get off

[Whynot @ Sep 7th 2006 12:59PM]

Warning: choking hazard. This plastic bag can be dangerous for children under 3 and adults with an IQ of less than 100.

[Rand @ Sep 7th 2006 1:03PM]

With all this coddling we are diluting the gene pool with dumbass DNA. Cockroaches will truly inherit the earth.

[Rod @ Sep 7th 2006 1:30PM]

I don't think it's such common knowledge that any damage done to stereocilia (hair cells in your ears) is permanent and not reversible.

This is not a bad idea at all, especially because young kids have DAPs too.
I don't know what people are flaming for, really.

[hussein rawat @ Sep 7th 2006 1:30PM]

these sort of warnings have been on-going since the early 80's. man they need to give it a rest!

[Xophonic @ Sep 7th 2006 1:42PM]

I'm scared for our society if this really needs to be done. Really people? really? Loud stuff hurts your ears? Do we need to hang a banner off the sun warning people not to stare at it? I'm so upset that I need to go have a smoke to calm down. Wait, what's this warning on the side. Cigarettes are bad for you?!?!?!?!!?! OMG, I thought they were full of antioxidants and B12 vitamins. Man, maybe we need these warnings after all.

[eloh @ Sep 7th 2006 2:50PM]

does anyone know who makes the headphones in the photo? do they get really loud? i need headphones that get really loud

[Richard @ Sep 7th 2006 3:05PM]

Rand is right! We should get rid of these stupid warnings, and let natural selection take place, and in 1000 years we will be smarter as a whole race, and so much less ridiculous. And we might just stay at the top of the food chain.

Dear me.

[Spoon! @ Sep 7th 2006 3:07PM]

I would've thought it was common knowledge that loud music is bad for your ears. Don't know about the rest of the world but my parents always warned me about the dangers of listening to music too loud when I was small. Also, I thought all DAPs sold in Europe had to have a volume limiter on them anyhow? (That's why we have things like the Sony's NWA volume hack)

Oh and 'le dawg du bordeaux'
In one of my local shops there is a large warning sign at the butchers counter reading "Warning: Knife will cut!"

[binary visions @ Sep 7th 2006 3:33PM]

We should get rid of all warnings, and substitute them with one generic one:

"Warning: the world is dangerous, morons may suffer injury and generally crappy lives. Don't be a moron."

[Efrim @ Sep 7th 2006 3:45PM]

eloh: Those are the Sony Qualia 010 and you have be insanely rich or an insane audiophile to get your hands on one

[StandardAI @ Sep 7th 2006 3:53PM]

Monitors have this too, about how they can mess up your vision over prolonged periods of time, it usually comes on a piece of paper in the box of a new monitor or PC, I think it's common knowledge but I could see how a lot of people don't know this even with the warning label.

[MichaelLC @ Sep 7th 2006 4:27PM]

"David" had it right with the 1st post.

How stupid are people? There's no end to the idiocy this could create. Knives? of course. Cars? definitly. Pens? sure. Marshmellows? why not.

If I'm ever a parent and my child grows up not knowing loud music/shrp things are dangerous, I better be the one runnign with scissors, at waist level.

[Neo Senku @ Sep 7th 2006 5:00PM]

i guess no one has common sense anymore, why cant people take responsibilty for their own actions, it seems like every adult is just child and not an adult, somethings should be obvious people, to much eating will make you fat, being too lazy will put you out of shape, and listening to music too loudly will fuck with your hearing

[T10 @ Sep 7th 2006 5:42PM]

Not a single comment that in the pic the guy is sporting a $1700 dollar set of headphones, the oh so pretty Qualia 010?

[Woolly Mittens @ Sep 7th 2006 5:55PM]

It'd be nice if audioplayers had a voluntary option to keep the soundlevel below, say, the pain-level. I worry about my hearing sometimes.

I'd listen to things at a recomended volume, if the player helped me pick it, since it's too subjective to do myself.

A warning-sticker has absolutely not use.

[Justin @ Sep 7th 2006 6:11PM]

This is crazy. They should start warning us of the dangers of everything!

This is about as good as the lady that sued McDonalds (and won) because of the coffee cup not having a warning about hot water.

[binary visions @ Sep 7th 2006 8:21PM]

Ugh, I hate people bringing that up, Justin.

McDonalds consciously kept the coffee far hotter than normal temperatures to reduce the amount they would have to throw away when it cooled off. She didn't sue because she burned herself. She sued because McDonalds deliberately used a dangerous practice despite many instances of people burning themselves.

[Solo @ Sep 8th 2006 1:54AM]

Here is a cautionary tale.

I gave myself a (likely) permanent case of tinnitus using headphones. I was using open style higher end headphones in NYC and unintentionally kept boosting the volume to overcome street noise. Street noise that was probably already in the danger zone, decibel wise! The warnings seem way obvious but man, those little hairs on the inside of your ears do not recover from damage. Unlike the tufts growing on the OUTSIDE of your ears! (but there are gadgets for that) Check this site for a list of rockers who have blasted themselves similarly:
http://www.hearnet.com/features/articles/artist_article_celebs.shtml

Pete Townsend claims his hearing loss was from headphones and NOT from being onstage.

[giskard @ Sep 8th 2006 3:10AM]

bare in mind that earohones makeyou forget how loud the music is. if you played your stereo as loud as you play your headphones normaly, you'd probably stop for fear of breaking it. you forget just how loud it is when using headphones, particularly when attemptingto block out backgroud noise.

[Tom Dowler @ Sep 8th 2006 4:04AM]

and this is why I'm leaving the UK next year.

This is not unusual over here.

[Mark @ Sep 8th 2006 9:12AM]

There should be warnings on all consumer products. No seriously! Imagine the warnings on underpants. "Do not combine with alchol...." or on eggs "Do not store on a chair that people could sit on" There is so much fun for copy writers here.

What warnings could be applied to real dangers like A Pencil. Oh the horror

[professor @ Sep 8th 2006 3:52PM]

eloh,

those are the head phones they make you wear when getting your hearing tested

[Meico Tenkawa @ Sep 8th 2006 6:22PM]

The only thing that could be said to this is; "Go stick it in your ear!"

[spookthehamster @ Sep 9th 2006 9:34AM]

"Ive invested in noise reducing Sennheiser headphones (HD 280 PRO), so that I dont have too turn the volume up above 50% on my nano too be able too hear music in the train and other public noisy places.

Does anyone know of any headphones that combine, active and passive noise reduction ?"

When it comes to saving your ears, passive noise reduction is better. Active noise reduction just masks ambient noise with a different noise, so your ears are open to both. Passive noise reduction blocks all noise other than from the earphones, my Shures never go past 20% on my iPod.

[Bryan @ Sep 19th 2006 6:57AM]

Actually I have seen sunglasses with a warning sticker on them that said that at some kiosk years ago. So we're already there :P