The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is calling for a maximum volume for MP3 players (here) to protect the hearing of music fans who are courting tinnitus and hearing loss by turning the volume up to damaging levels. The EC’s recommendation calls for a default music player setting of 85 decibels, with a maximum of 100 decibels, which any music fan knows is hardly enough to allow the music to envelop their consciousness, reverberate through their entire body, become etched into their soul, and induce a state of paradoxical serenity.
As a lifetime user of personal portable music players, I must admit to being a fan of LOUD. What’s the point of listening to White Zombie if the volume is so low that Rob Zombie is whispering sweet nothings into your ears? Perhaps this explains the perpetual dull ringing in my ears that doesn’t really bother me until I start listening to it. I fully expect to need a hearing aid when I get older, but honestly, it will be a small price to pay for earphone euphoria. Don’t listen to the EC, kids. Live loud and die deaf. Turn the music up to 11.
You know what’s damaging to the ears? Sirens. I hate when I’m walking down the street, and an ambulance or fire truck whooshes by with a blaring, inescapable 120-decibel siren, because then I have to turn up the volume on my iPod.
