Via the BBC, the European Union is proposing changes to MP3 players to prescribe default safe listeing levels for MP3 players. Current legislation mandates that “a statement be put in the instruction manual to warn of the adverse effects of exposure to excessive sound level”. The new proposals would see that the default sound setting for any device “shall be the ‘default’ settings on products”. January will see the start of a two-month consultation of all EU standardisation bodies with a final agreement expected in the spring of 2010.
The EU notes that safe use depends on exposure time and volume levels, “At 80 dB(A), exposure should be limited to 40 hours/week. At 89 dB(A) exposure should not exceed 5 hours/week”.