Young people are putting their hearing at risk by having their iPods on too loudYoung people are putting their health at risk by listening to music at the same volume as jet engine noise, an expert has warned.
Playing MP3 players such as iPods at high volumes and using earphones that fit into the ear canal could lead to loss of hearing, it is claimed.
Professor Peter Rabinowitz, from Yale University School of Medicine, said some players generate volumes in the ear in excess of 120 decibels, which is 'similar in intensity to a jet engine' and louder than a pneumatic drill.
His warning comes after the European Commission claimed up to 10 per cent of 30-year-olds would have to wear a hearing device within the next decade because they listen to music too loudly through headphones.
Surveys have shown that more than 90 per cent of young people in Europe and the U.S. used them, often for several hours a day at maximum volume.
The professor, writing online in the British Medical Journal, said: ' Concern is growing that children and young adults are developing noise-induced hearing loss as a result of over-exposure to amplified music.
'As with mobile phones, the use of personal music players has grown faster than our ability to assess their potential health consequences.'
He said several small studies had found young people had worse hearing if they listened to music players.
Some MP3 players generate volumes in the ear in excess of 120 decibels, which is 'similar in intensity to a jet engine' source: dailymail