Young people who use MP3 players and iPods are being urged to check their hearing at the Oxford Hearing Centre in Botley, one of only two places in the UK to use a simple test card system, which plays sounds like a novelty greetings card.

Senior partner Richard Moss said stigma attached to deafness discouraged many people from having their hearing examined, so the free card was a good way for them to do a discreet check in their own home.

He added that although hearing problems were seen as an elderly person's problem, more and more young adults who enjoyed loud music through earphones or in clubs were getting symptoms usually associated with old age.

Mr Moss said: "If MP3 players are used at too high a volume for long periods of time it can cause age-related damage in the ear which is similar to the deterioration of hearing usually suffered by an old person."

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