Users' hearing at risk
I trust that everybody has been busy in the run up to Christmas? I went for a wander into Peterborough city centre at the weekend as I was visiting my parents and the whole place was heaving! Fitting in with that trend, we're also pretty off our feet at Laskys Towers. No doubt Christmas shopping has finally started in the face of the economic troubles. If you're a bit stumped for a gift, and don't fancy battling through the hustle and bustle of the high street, take a look at what we've got. Cameras, iPods, laptops - check them all out at Laskys!
Now, MP3 players and iPods will indeed be a popular choice of gift at this time of year. However, I did read this morning a couple of articles about how 2 out of every 3 people are running the risk of permanently damaging their hearing. I'd like to stress at this point that it's possible to hear your music from your iPod at a sensible audio level. There's no point in wrecking your ear drums, otherwise you won't be able to use your MP3 player anyway.
The recommended level of noise is 85 decibels. I'm not entirely sure as to what volume setting this is on all the different players, but if yours has a volume limiter on it, please use it. In some cases, the study that reported these findings also inform us that 100 decibels is the equivalent of a pneumatic drill 10 feet away. The scary thing is that about 1 in 5 users have their music pumping into their ears at levels that exceed this! Listening to loud music won't just ruin your hearing; it could well also affect your memory, cause tinnitus, bring down your attention levels and may also raise your blood pressure.
I don't know about anyone else, but I find it quite annoying when I'm able to hear someone else's music being played. Even more so when I've got my own music on. If you're not going to turn your music down for your own ears, then please at least turn it down out of respect for those around you. If you are in a noisy place and need to increase the volume, just remember to turn it down once the noise is over.
