People still pumping up the volume
A new survey has found that most people would turn their music down if they were told to by a doctor or other health-care professional.
The survey, which was carried out by Vanderbilt University, in conjunction with MTV, revealed that half of respondents experienced symptoms such as tinnitus or hearing loss after being exposed to loud music, and 32 percent said they considered hearing loss a problem.
About 75 percent said they owned an MP3 player, and 24 percent listened to it for more than 15 hours a week. Nearly half said they use a music player at 75 to 100 percent of its maximum volume, which exceeds government regulations for occupational sound levels.
When surrounded by external sounds, such as traffic noise, 89 percent of the respondents said they increase the volume on their music player, the study found.
Respondents said the media is the most informative source about hearing loss prevention, and the health care community was considered the least likely source. However, people taking the survey said they would change their music listening behaviour if advised to do so by a health-care professional.
