Slow News Day=Fearmongering #4

Funny, because this wasn't really a "slow" day for news per se. That being said, this little note about listening to music too loud can damage your hearing is nothing new. Not even close to new.

Being a musician for many years, my hearing is pretty shot. I listen to my walkman loud (at least I think its loud). In fact, one of the things I like about my iPod is the fact that it is louder than most walkmans (trivia: the iPod is loud because Steve Jobs, apple CEO, has crappy hearing).

But this story just points out the obvious. Loud music for a long time can hurt your ears. Is it a national crisis? Nope. Leading off the story saying half of American high school students show some loss of hearing is totally misleading. I'm sure if we tested American high school students for, say, toxins in their bodies, we'd get an even higher percentage that would look scary as hell. Do you think anyone in their right mind would simply blame that on "modern society", or one product in particular?

Rock on, I say. If you ride the subway, get a nice pair of noise canceling headphones. I just got some from Sony (about $100) and they are amazing. In fact, I'm willing to bet that listening to your music at a reasonable volume with good headphones is better than listening to the jackhammers, cranes, alarms, sirens, and commercial ad chatter you'd otherwise be bombarded with.
CBC News: Ipod generation risks permanent hearing loss, U.S. poll suggests