RoyalNationalInstituteForDeafPeople
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UK charity wants hearing loss warnings on DAPs
Even though it may seem rather obvious that listening to loud music (whether through headphones or speakers) has the potential to cause hearing damage, apparently 58% of 16 to 30-year-old Brits are blissfully unaware of this fact, so a UK-based charitable organization is now calling on DAP manufacturers to affix more prominent warning labels to their products. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) has apparently contacted all of the leading makers of MP3 players with a plea to include cigarette-type notification on all of their packaging, citing music lovers like 27-year-old "Cath" who claimed, "I was shocked when I found out that by listening to my MP3 player too loudly I could do serious damage to my hearing. If I saw a warning on the box I'd definitely take it more seriously." RNID has even set up a website called Don't Lose the Music where folks like the gentleman who sued Apple can find supposedly unbiased statistics and facts about hearing loss, along with tips -- such as turning the volume down -- that will reduce your chances of going partially or fully deaf. We're most interested in finding out how our readers feel about this issue; i.e. how far do companies need to go in order to convey the dangers of their products -- for instance, do knife manufacturers need to tell us in big bold letters that we risk cutting ourselves, or should the makers of sunglasses warn us not to stare directly into the sun?[Via ArsTechnica]
