A recent report conducted by the European Union’s Scientific Committee has found that anywhere between five to 10 percent of daily personal music player listeners could create permanent hearing damage. In response, a conference was organised by the European Commission, with a spectrum of leading analysts, from EU country analysts, scientists, consumer organisations, standard makers, industry, European lawmakers and others to suggest steps consumers can pursue, and industry can use to reduce the threat of hearing impairment.

There was no consensus though on new or revised safety regulations. It was estimated that from 50 to 100 million people listen to portable music players every day, a growing number that caught the attention European Commissioner for Consumer Protection Meglena Kuneva. “In the light of recent scientific advice, we need to act quickly, to look again at the controls in place, to make sure they are fully effective and keep pace with new technology so that consumers benefit from the highest safety standards,” she said. Although an EU safety standard now restricts the noise level of personal music players to 100 decibels, there is a growing voice that believes future damage can be avoided by finding creative ways to get people to cut down on the amount of time they are exposed to potentially damaging noise, so keep your eyes open. Or closed sometimes.