Apple Addresses iPod Hearing Loss Worries

A new software update from Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) allows iPod users to lock the volume at a specific decibel level. Introduction of the new capability -- aimed particularly at parents worried about their offsprings' listening habits -- follows the filing of a lawsuit against Apple that claims the popular device can cause permanent hearing loss. The software update lets parents set a maximum volume limit on their child's iPod and lock it with a combination code.

In February, Louisiana resident John Kiel Patterson brought a suit in the U.S. District Court in San Jose, Calif., seeking class action certification. The complaint requests compensation for damages and a mandate to change the iPod's design to make listening safer.

While critics view the lawsuit as an example of product liability taken to extremes, research over the past ten years shows that cumulative damage can result from unsafe listening habits associated with personal music devices -- whether they are the tape cassette players popular in the 1980s or the latest MP3 players coming on the market today.

20 Hours of Listening Time

The health issues highlighted in the lawsuit do not apply exclusively to Apple products, but thanks to its vast popularity, the iPod has become a poster child for the current generation of audiologists worried about the risks of unsafe listening.

"New technology has exacerbated the problems," said physician Paul Dybala, editor-in-chief of HealthyHearing.com and AudiologyOnline. "Before, someone could only listen to a battery-operated Walkman for a few hours at a time. Now, devices have 20 hours of listening time, which means people can walk around all day listening to music at unsafe levels," he told MacNewsWorld.

That is why Apple's new software is a fantastic development, he added. "I've been talking to a software developer about a similar concept, because I think something like this is needed. I am very glad to see Apple is moving forward with these safety issues."

Good Listening Habits

It is easy enough for adults to slip into unsafe listening habits, says Dybala, who owns several iPods, but even easier for teenagers who may fancy themselves invincible.

To protect their hearing, users should wear sound isolation earphones so the device volume doesn't have to be higher than usual in order to drown out outside noise, and limit listening hours per week. "A rule of thumb is that you want to listen at most to your device for one hour a day at 60 percent maximum volume," Dybala recommends.

It is unlikely teenagers or pre-teens are sufficiently disciplined -- or even interested -- to impose such restrictions on themselves, which is why Dybala and other hearing health advocates applaud the new modifications.

Additional control options targeting adult users could be useful, he added. "I would love it if Apple would release a product that reminded me I have gone over my 60 minutes for that day, for example," he remarked.