Can listening to personal music players damage hearing?
Recent scientific findings reviewed by EU scientific committee
Brussels, 14 October 2008. In the EU, some 50 to 100 million people listen to personal music players on a daily basis. While most users choose volume settings which are unlikely to cause hearing loss, some set the volume control very high and/or use them for many hours per day. In the long term, they may suffer from temporary or permanent hearing loss, ringing in the ears and difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments. This is one of the conclusions of a recent opinion by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR).
At the request of the European Commission DG Health and Consumers, GreenFacts faithfully summarised the opinion on potential health risks of exposure to noise from personal music players and mobile phones including a music playing function.
A plain-language summary of this scientific opinion is now available from the EU Directorate General of Health and Consumers (http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions/en/hearing-loss-personal-music-player-mp3/) in four languages: English, French, Spanish and German. It is also available from GreenFacts (www.greenfacts.org), a leading publisher of scientific information that was commissioned by the Directorate General to produce this and other summaries of scientific opinions.
Highlights of the SCENIHR Opinion on the health risks of personal music players
The risk of hearing damage from personal music players and mobile phones including a music playing function depends on both sound level and listening time. The listening habits of most users are unlikely to cause hearing loss, but some young people are putting their hearing at risk in the long term.
At 80 dB(A) or less, listening to music is considered safe, no matter for how long or how often personal music players are used. This sound level is roughly equivalent to someone shouting or traffic noise from a nearby road. It also corresponds to the noise protection level established by the EU for long term exposure at the workplace.
However, the maximum volume setting on some personal music players can generate up to about 120 dB(A) which is equivalent to an airplane taking off nearby.
At sound levels above 80 dB(A), personal music players may lead to hearing damage if used regularly for excessive periods of time over several years. Such listening habits may result in permanent hearing loss, high-pitched ringing in the ears, and difficulties understanding speech in noisy environments.
Moreover, while using a personal music player, the listener may be less aware of potential dangers such as approaching cars and encounter difficulties reading and learning, even below 80 dB(A).
To better assess the health risks of exposure to loud sounds from personal music players, more research and data are needed, particularly on the way personal music players are used, on what makes certain people more vulnerable to hearing loss, and on other health effects not related to hearing.
About GreenFacts
GreenFacts asbl/vzw is an independent, multi-stakeholder non-profit organization based in Belgium. Our mission is to bring complex scientific reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-experts.
We publish two types of faithful summaries of scientific reports: GreenFacts Digests of scientific consensus reports (authorised by the GreenFacts Scientific Board), and GreenFacts Co-Publications (published at the request of contracting organizations). GreenFacts’ publications are freely available in several languages on www.greenfacts.org. Each publication is a faithful summary of an authoritative international scientific report.
GreenFacts was created in 2001 by individuals from scientific institutions, environmental and health organizations, and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased information on health and the environment.
About the SCENIHR
The Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) was set up in 2004 by the European Commission to provide the Commission with unambiguous scientific advice on the safety of a series of issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of the risks, such as new technologies, medical devices, etc. The SCENIHR advice is intended to enable risk managers to take the adequate and required actions in order to guarantee consumer safety or public health.
The SCENIHR addresses questions concerning emerging or newly-identified risks and on broad, complex or multi-disciplinary issues such as antimicrobial resistance, nanotechnologies, tissue engineering, blood products, fertility reduction, cancer of endocrine organs, noise and electromagnetic fields.
About DG Health and Consumers
The role of Health and Consumers Directorate General of the European Commission is to make Europe’s citizens healthier, safer and more confident. Over the years the European Union has established EU laws on the safety of food and other products, on consumers' rights and on the protection of people's health. The DG Health and Consumers has the task of keeping these laws up to date.
It also ensures that the national, regional or even local governments in EU countries apply the EU's health and consumer protection laws and make sure traders, manufacturers and food producers in their country observe the rules.
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