While much attention has focused on the iPod and other personal music players, the association randomly chose and tested nine devices that can be turned up to potentially damaging decibel levels.

Among those tested were Bluetooth headsets that allow wireless communication and laptop components that let travelers listen to private concerts while blocking out the roar of plane engines.

“All of the devices we tested can produce sound well above the maximum safety level of 85 decibels,” said ASHA spokeswoman Pam Mason.

A level of 85 decibels is about the loudness of a lawnmower. Many of the devices tested produced up to 120 decibels.

Particularly worrisome, the group said, is a new generation of music players marketed to children, such as the Bratz Liptunes MP3 player and the Disney Mix Stick.

Chris Heatherly, a Disney spokesman, said Wednesday that their device complies with all safety requirements. He said the company could not comment on the study, which they had not yet reviewed.

A 9-year-old third-grader at Woodland Elementary School in Kansas City said with a grin that he turns up the volume on his music player “so loud my parents can hear it and they say to turn it down.”

Students in his class Wednesday were getting their annual hearing tests. Cynthia Fett, an audiologist for the Kansas City School District, asked how many of the 17 students regularly listened to music on personal players. Nine hands went up.

How many turn up the volume? Most hands remained in the air.

Kathy LeTourneau, another district audiologist, said that while it can take years for hearing loss to occur, if a child listens to music too loud for too long it can lead to “premature aging of their hearing.”

Audiologists are particularly concerned about the growing use of ear buds.

“With the ear buds, you can still hear some of the background noise, so people tend to turn the volume up even louder,” said Kristen Dawson, an audiologist at St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City.

Seeking solutions

Tips to reduce hearing loss:

■ Keep the volume at six or lower.

■ Take a 15-minute break every hour.

■ If ears ring or background noise seems too soft when you stop listening, your music’s too loud.

■ Headphones block out more background noise than ear buds, allowing lower volumes.

■ Get a baseline hearing test if concerned about a child’s hearing loss.

On the Web

■ For more information go to www.asha.org .

By Paul Wenske
http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/news/nation/14000282.htm