There are about 173 million iPod users out there! Are you one? Do you think that mp3 player volume levels can be dangerous to your hearing? I listen to music all of the time, but are we listening at dangerous levels that can actually cause hearing loss?
Read this article titled, "iPod Safety: Preventing Hearing Loss in Teens" then respond to the article. Here are some questions to help guide your response:
- Should manufacturers be allowed to make mp3 players that can play at dangerous levels?
- Why do you think so many people, especially teens, are unaware of the potential risk of listening to music that is too loud?
- What are some ways teens can be made more aware of the potential risks of hearing loss?
- How often do you listen to music using headphones? For how long? At what volume level? Do you think it's dangerous?
- Mr. W
Posts
Amy O- I think that manufacturers shouldn't be allowed to make mp3 players that can play at dangerous levels. So many people, especially teens, are unaware of the potential risk of loud music because no one takes the time to seriously sit down with them and teach them the dangers of loud music. Some ways teens can be made more aware of the risk of hearing loss are assemblies and living examples. I listen to music using headphones a lot, probably just as much and as long as any other teen. I usually keep the volume just a little louder than medium level, but I do think it can be a little dangerous.
ReplyDelete612.- I do think that mp3 players can have an excessive amount of volume on them. I believe that teens do not think that listening to loud mp3 players now will effect them in the future, even though it will. Manufactures should make mp3 players with a loudest volume that is still safe for people to listen to.
ReplyDelete615-This is one post that I can agree and disagree with. I'm sure that the manufacturers know the problem, but I honestly don't think they really care. If they did, they would have fixed it a long time ago. As for them continuing to make the players that can be dangerous, they will. Even if they didn't, people will find a way to make them louder anyways and therefore continue the problem.
ReplyDeleteI believe people know that they are playing their music too loud, but don't know the risk. One rule of thumb they could use is if they can't hear other people talking, the music is too loud. Making an informative commercial about this topic would probably help, as well as more info on the net.
I personally don't like loud music, when I am listening with headphones, they aren't loud, and it's not for that long. It might be a little dangerous...but not as bad as blasting your ears off.
618- I believe that manufacturers should not be allowed to make mp3 players or iPods that can play at dangerous levels. If any person, including children and teens, are losing their hearing at a young age then the manufacturer can lose many and customers. For example, if a teen loses their hearing because of their iPod, then the parent of that child can tell friends or close relatives with young children. Therefore, the parents that were told might not buy an mp3 or an iPod for their kids. Also, I think that so many people, including teens, are unaware of the potential risk of listening to music that is very loud because, with the new technology they will be able to have surgery that can bring their hearing back. Some ways teens can be made more aware of the potential risk of hearing loss is to have “talks” with the teens in school about the risks of iPods or mp3 players. I personal own an iPod and I can’t stand the volume at a high level. I probably listen to my iPod with my headphones about a total of one hour, an hour and a half at most. Since I don’t listen to my iPod at full blast, I don’t think that I am at a risk of losing my hearing.
ReplyDeleteSee, this is one of those situations where you can admit there is a problem, but there's not really a good way to solve it. Sure iPods can damage your hearing permanently and all, and sure that's bad. But how can we really solve the problem? Put a volume lock on all iPods and MP3 players at a certain legal limit? In that case, chances are people will start complaining, then you start losing customers; pretty soon, you find that your multi-million dollar company has gone down the tubes and you're left on the street living in your...Escalade. :] ( Yeah, I guess that is a tad bit on the "never going to happen" side, but still; I'm sure you get the picture. )
ReplyDeleteBottom line, you can't disagree with the fact that you can really screw up your hearing by doing stupid things, such as turning up your iPod as loud as it can go to try and drone out your nagging parents, which is clearly an impossible feat in itself ( at least it is for me ). It's pointless for Apple to go through all the trouble of regulating something as simple as volume controls on all their iPod products, I don't really think it's going to help in the end, especially with the economy in the suckish state it is.
I think that the way we listen to music can be at risk, but we choose how loud we make our music. I mean i know i listen to loud music, but im sure i know when its to loud. When its hard to hear our music we tend to turn up the volume which starts to cause the hearing loss. I also think teens are unware because we don't choose to find out whats at rik about the volume of our music.
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614- i think that ipods and mp3 players shouldn't be able to go as high as they do. People with ipods and mp3 players should know the risks they are taking when they listen to the music as loud as they so. There are many reasons for children and teens to not listen to the music as loud as they do. They should be able to hear people talking around them when they have their ipods in.
ReplyDelete626- I think that mp3 players volume limit is fine. It also depends on the brand of headphones you buy. The headphones that are given to you are made to prevent hearing loss and on the other hand headphone brands like skull candy is made to be lound as possible. So if you use skull candy headphones you should watch the volume limit.
ReplyDelete606-I think that producers are doing the best they can because different people have different hearing abilitys and its the consumers choice right? So if they are harmful to you then dont buy that brand.
ReplyDelete605-I think its up to the consumer to be smart about the level they put their volume at. Everyone knows the damage it can to do your hearing and everyone says they care, but its still their choice. I listen to my ipod at a pretty high level and I know it can be bad, but its not insanely loud all the time. There are measures you can take if the volume and hearing loss issue concerns you.
ReplyDeleteJordan H.
ReplyDeleteBelieve me i love to listen to my music very loud. To kind of drown out the people around me when i am aggravated, but i do think that music does cause hearing loss. I think i am an example, i would be sitting in my room and my father would come down the hall way and yell and me that he called my name 5 times. The could start regulating the volume a little bit more for Ipods and mp3 players, but yes i agree with the Column.
613
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that manufacturers should be allowed to make mp3 players with dangerous levels. But, they should have warning labels and make it a wide known fact that you shouldn’t listen to their product that loud or it could cause hearing loss.
I think a lot of people ARE aware, they just don’t care. Lots of teens know that they could hurt their eardrums by listening to loud music because it’s overstated by all adults, especially parents. Most of us, like me for example, don’t really care. I know hearing is important, but the only reason I listen to my music that loud is to drown out the sounds of my annoying family.
People could improve their labeling. For instance, they can put a little sticker or note on the product itself that has a safety warning. I think that people will notice more if the warning is on the product.
I listen to music with headphones about four times a week. I listen to it about 80% of the sound level. Yes, I know there are risks, but that won’t stop me!
Meagan.M-It's true that most people do listen to there ipods to loud, and they have no idea what it's doing to their ear's.But they ither are unaware or dont really care, Because teen's(like me) dont really think what it's doing to them cause at the moment it's not a big issue, an we dont really think it's a big deal "oh no one day when were old we'll need a hearing aid!" but thats just my opion.Were just not thinking.
ReplyDelete619-I believe that teens are very unaware of the damages of putting their MP3 Player to maximum level. Teenagers do not think about the long-term consequences, and how it effects their health. They think it is not a big issue because it is not affecting their health in the present time. I believe MP3 player manufacturers should lower the volume level to a decent and safe volume so no one regrets their decisions in the future.
ReplyDeleteDrew F. - Yes I am an earbud user. Quite frequently when I surf the net, exercise or just sitting around the house I listen to my ipod. I normally listen at a medium level for about 2 hours a day. Yes, we can reduce the damage by lowering the volume and listening to our ipods for shorter periods of time. I however, don't normally like to have my ipod too loud, because it hurts my ears and my parents seem to yell more often.
ReplyDelete607-Personally I am an ipod owner. I know what it is like to have one and how they work. I think that ipods and mp3 players have there volumes set to the right levels of sound, because you are the one who chooses how loud you put it. There are different types of headphones that can also make how you hear the music different, depending on making the music sound softer or louder when you have them in your ears. But i do believe that if you do have your music blasting all the time that it could lead up to hearing loss.
ReplyDelete607-I also think that the manufacturers should be aloud to make the kind that they want because it is the customers choice to buy that or a different brands. I think that many people, including teens, are aware of this hazard but just do not care.
ReplyDeleteLexey P- I do think that manufactures should be able to put the ipods at unsafe hearing levels. It's not the manufactures job to tell you how loud you can or cannot put your music. I think that people, especially teens, are unaware of how dangourous loud music can be on their ears beacuse the do not really care. Or maybe it's becasue they think that if the ipod can go up that loud, that it is safe enough to be up that loud. Teens could be made more aware of this by having a warning on the box of the ipod, or in the directions. But that might not help because no alot of people read the directions. I really only listen to my ipod in the docking station or inthe car adapter. If I do listen to it with head phones, I don't have the music at a very high volume. So no, I don't thin that it is dangerous.
ReplyDeletejustin B- well in my very opinion, i-pod's/ mp3 players really shouldnt make there products that can go up that loud. Although if it where true that it may cause deffness, i dont really know if i can believe that if actually can because I probably would have been deffinatly a long time ago, but it is at the buyers own risk that they buy it. Or you can just go to the settings menu in most I-pods and change the the volume limit to what you only want it to be turned up to. Because we know that the makers really do care about saftey they just want to sell there product, so it's really up to the buyer
ReplyDeleteI think music is great.
ReplyDeleteAnd i love to listen to it!
I tend to listen to it very loudly! Very Very Loudly.
I think the consumer of the MP3 player should be well aware of the risks of music to loudly. It says it clearly in the owners manual.
Bryan M-with myself being an Ipod owner and also a person who has the tendency to listen to my music way to loud, i believe that nothing should be done or even tried to be done about this problem. I figure it's the owners choice to make themselves deaf. i mean sure a lot of people don't really grasp onto the face that their hearing will eventually o "out the window", but that's just them eing ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI listen to my Ipod almost all the time, there are only about 2 times a day that i don't have it playing. i usually have it full blast. but after reading the article i'm gonna keep it at a reasonable valume, because being deaf isn't something that sounds like fun.
Mandy E.-If ipods manufacturers were forced to lower their volume levels, then who's to say that smoking, alcohol, or weapons should be legal, but i'm sure that it wouldn't be too difficult. I believe that the reason teens are so careless of the hearing risks is because they are experiencing everything for the first time, and are unaware of the harmful consequences. A possible solution to this problem might be to list a warning label on these products or lower the risky volume levels. I do not own an ipod any more, but when I did, I didn't really enjoy listening to it at levels when I couldn't hear anything around me.
ReplyDeleteI-pods can cause major hearing damage i believe. Many young people don't understand that it can happen to them. Lots of kids listen to music constantly and have it way too loud. When you do that it damages the ear as it says in the blog. I think they should make the max volume on an I-pod safe for your ears.
ReplyDeleteIt was very nice blog and got lots of information .Thanks
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