Millions of commuters risk hearing damage because they have set the volume level too high on their MP3 players. In the past, loud workplaces were blamed for causing the majority of harmful noise. However, researchers at Michigan University in the US found that noise from MP3 players has overtaken as the biggest danger to hearing.
Occupational health experts found nine out of 10 people using public transport were exposed to excessive noise through listening to loud music through their headphones, rather than from the environment. This could be because cheap headphones fail to seal against the ear properly, causing commuters to turn up the volume to block out exterior noise.
The resulting tinny noise can drive fellow passengers up the wall. Professor Rick Neitzel, who co-authored the study, said: “A growing number of studies show noise causes stress, sleep disturbance, and heart disease. It may be the noise which we haven’t historically paid much attention to is actually contributing to some of the top health problems in developed countries today.”