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Sure, it might be somewhat common knowledge, but the European Union is saying that MP3 players could be ruining our hearing.  According to an EU report, listening to music at 89 decibels for more than five hours a week, young people could damage their ears within five years. 

Not only would they not be able to hear you with their headphones in, but their hearing would be about the same without the music.  According to the EU report, up to 10 million people with MP3 players can suffer from this hearing loss.

The EU claims that part of the blame lies on newer digital players that can produce high volume music without suffering from quality loss.  Somehow I doubt that high-quality sound is what’s ruining the ears of the youth.  If they cared about audio quality, less people would use stock or $10 headphones.  Unless, of course, Europe has a lot more audiophiles than the U.S.

At least once a day, I pass someone using cheap earbuds playing music so loud that I can hear it perfectly clear.  True, this may be from sound leaks, but I doubt that’s always the case.  If people would invest in in-ear-headphones that isolate outside noise, perhaps we wouldn’t have these issues.

Read [Reuters]