EU To Order Volume Limits on MP3 Players

By Geoff Duncan
September 28, 2009

In a move to preserve consumers' hearing, the European Union is revising its safety standards to limit default volume levels to 80 db.

For years, consumer and health advocates have warned about the dangers of pumping loud music into our heads using personal music players like iPods and cell phones: health and safety experts have long warned that most music players can put out music volumes that, over time, can lead to long term hearing loss—especially for folks who insist on tapping into their tunes for hours at a time. Now the European Union is doing something about it, revising its safety requirements for personal music players to reduce the risk of hearing damage from prolonged use: by default, music players will be limited to a maximum volume setting of 80 db—about the volume of nearby road noise or someone shouting—and manufacturers will have two years ...

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