Commuters’ hearing at risk from iPods

Millions of commuters risk hearing damage because they are constantly exposed to loud noise – much of it from listening to iPods.

In the past, loud workplaces were blamed for harmful noise levels. But researchers at Michigan University in the US found that noise from MP3 players and stereo use has overtaken loud work environments, even though it is a small part of total annual noise exposure. Occupational health experts found that one in 10 public transport users suffered noise exposure exceeding the recommended limits. But when they measured the total yearly exposure from all sources, 90 per cent of public transport users exceeded the recommended limits, primarily due to MP3 usage.

Prof Rick Neitzel, who co-authored the study, said: “It’s startling that two in three people get the majority of noise exposure from music.

“I’ve always viewed the workplace as a primary risk for noise exposure. But this would suggest that just focusing our efforts on the workplace isn’t enough, since there’s lots of noise exposure happening elsewhere.”

Researchers looked at noise exposure among 4,500 New Yorkers.