Cranking the Volume on Your iPod Or Mp3 Player Can Damage Hearing

Kids have all the time loved listening to their beloved music, and the louder the better - much to their parents' dismay. In the 1980s, the transportable tape recorder with headphones - which came to be known as the "Walkman" - enabled teenagers to listen to their music as loud as they wanted, anywhere they wanted, without disturbing whatever nearby them.

But the more contemporary rendition of the Walkman - transportable Mp3 Players and iPods - pose a major threat to our children's hearing health, and to ours.

Northwestern

The problem is a compound of the technology of transportable digital devices that creates a non-buffered crystal clear sound, and the type of headphones typically used with them, which do not have a buffer either. In December 2005, Dean Garstecki, an audiologist and professor at Northwestern University reported that more and more young population were being diagnosed with the types of hearing loss typically found in older adults. He attributed this trend to the "earbud" type headphones that regularly accompany iPod and Mp3 Players. With the earbud headphones, the sound frequencies are not buffered as they are with the more traditional, ear cup-style headsets.

Newsweek Magazine recently reported that researchers at the House Ear design found that listeners can unfortunately increase the volume of today's transportable digital devices without the "signal distortion that occurs with primary analog audio." The older-model headphones that were beloved just 15 to 20 years ago - that have ear cups outside of the ears - had that distortion when the volume was turned up, which functioned as a much-needed buffer to safe our hearing. Today's technology does not furnish that buffer - the earpiece is settled in the ear, not outside of it, and the digital devices do not originate that distortion, no matter how high the volume.

In addition, population often listen to these devices while they are on the go, and have a tendency to crank the volume in an exertion to drown outside noise, added posing a risk to our hearing. Using the earbud style headphones during activities such as exercise, for example, puts the user at a greater risk. during exercise, blood, which can act as a buffer, is diverted from the ears to other parts of the body - so our already vulnerable hearing is in even more jeopardy.

Headwize reports that a study conducted on music listeners using headphones revealed that while indoors with no background noise, the participants were comfortable with their music at 69 decibels. Outdoors, where the background noise was recorded at 65 decibels, participants using their headphones turned the volume up to 82 decibels and as high as 95 decibels to drown out the surrounding noise. The Occupational safety and health management guidelines limit exposure to noise at this level to no more than four hours each day. The study concluded that the participants were at risk for hearing damage and recommended "avoiding continuous use of [portable stereos] in noisy conditions."

Northwestern University's Dean Garstecki offers more definite guidelines: His 60 percent/60 slight rule - listen to Mp3 Players and iPods for "about an hour a day and at levels below 60 percent of maximum volume." The problem is, most of the population using headphones - young music fans - listen to their music for much longer than one hour per day. But, you can help minimize hearing loss, damage and problems while listening to your beloved music as long as you want to - the underground is in the headphones.

Headphones such as the Ex29 ultimate Isolation Noise allowance Headphones help block out external noise allowing you to hear the fine details of your music without blowing out your ear drums. The ear cup fits over the ear, and not in it, and the headphones are lightweight, don't want batteries and can be used with your Mp3 Player or iPod. With 29 decibels of isolation from outside sound, the quiet headphones block outside noise and there is no need to crank the volume of your music.

Aging rock stars like the Who's Pete Townsend, who has some permanent hearing loss from years of exposure to loud music, and Mick Fleetwood, who has teamed up with Energizer batteries to promote hearing loss prevention, have brought social attention to the fact that many of us take our hearing for granted. But there's no need to turn off your music - just be smarter about how you listen to it. If you are using your Mp3 Player or iPod when you're exercising, in a noisy environment or you just want to hear the fine details of your music, ditch the earbud headphones and reach for a set of noise allowance ones instead. And you'll be enjoying your beloved music for a long time to come.

Cranking the Volume on Your iPod Or Mp3 Player Can Damage Hearing

Fliers Beware! Did You Let Airlines Damage Your Property?

If you travel with small children, you no doubt have taken a stroller, car seat or some other essential on board an aircraft. These days, with full flights, you'll most likely have to gate check the item. This means leaving your item at the end of the jet way as you board, and picking it up after your flight in the same place, or at baggage claim. We have found that this is a fairly convenient strategy.

In the rush of boarding and keeping track of kids and your belongings, you were probably asked to sign a tag which was then attached to your stroller. Like us, you probably didn't bother reading the fine print. But after a recent flight on Northwest Airlines, we did, and we were surprised to learn what the airline's legal department is up to...

Northwestern Airlines

The set up...

When you sign that tag, you are absolving the airline of responsibility for any damage to your stroller, car seat, etc. How? By stating that your item was already damaged when it was given to the agent at the gate. Of course you never said this - but it is what the fine print you signed contains.

Here is the text of what is on Northwest Airlines' Gate Luggage Claim Check:

"In consideration of carrier(s) transporting my property which has been damaged previously, I hereby release carrier(s) from liability resulting solely from such pre-existing damage."

Below this text is a line to enter a description of the damage, and one for your signature. You can see a picture of an actual Gate Luggage Claim Check by searching for 'check tag' at http://images.google.com/. Look for the pink tag.

So what's the big deal?

By signing the tag, you are acknowledging that the item is already damaged! The airline is saying they won't be responsible for this damage. That seems fair, but, here's the kicker: it is hard to prove when damage occurs. So they're covered if they ruin your stroller, because you said it was already damaged, and that gets them off the hook.

In our scenario, we checked a brand new stroller, purchased just for this trip. If it was returned to us at our destination damaged, the airline would no doubt say that the damage occurred before we handed it over to them, and the tag that we signed is their proof that we acknowledged previous damage. Pretty sneaky!

Again, on the surface the wording seems reasonable, as airlines can't be responsible for damage that really does occur before they take possession. And it isn't saying that they aren't responsible if they damage the item. But because it is hard to prove when damage occurred, and since you signed the tag saying it was damaged previously, the airline is in the clear for any damage that they cause.

The form does have a legitimate use, as I'm sure airlines do get strollers and car seats with existing damage. But the form should be rewritten so that the gate agent must identify existing damage in order to absolve the airline of responsibility.

So what do I do?

The next time you're asked to sign a gate check tag, make sure you print 'NO PREVIOUS DAMAGE' clearly, above your signature. You can use the damage description line for this purpose. By doing this, you are establishing the fact that your item was not damaged when handed over to the airline. So if it comes back to you all mangled, it is clear that the airline must have caused the damage, for which they are then responsible.

Fliers Beware! Did You Let Airlines Damage Your Property?

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