Necessary Roughness

A WebMD article on cbs.com complains that MP3 players increase the chance of hearing loss in children.

Because they hold thousands of songs and can play for hours without recharging, users tend to listen continuously for hours at a time. They don’t even have to stop to change a CD or a tape.

CD players don’t have to be stopped, either. Can we say “shuffle, continuous play”? I am not that old, but I remember when the mere presence of headphones on the Walkman caused a concern about hearing loss.

The article suggests limiting the volume on players. Yet players aren’t only hooked up to headphones. I’ve taken my Palm and my laptop and hooked up my old stereo to them. People have adapters (remember the Sony Discmans that had the audio tape adapter?) for their cars. The iPod and Walkman have speakers that are powered by just the unit, and the sound can’t be amplified by a car or a stereo. The power that generates 100db in headphones doesn’t drive these speakers nearly so much.

In addition to the noise level, people who think they know what’s best for you are also concerned about the “dosage”.

“Capping the volume focuses on the sound level, not the dose,” he said. “If you set the cap at 100, that doesn’t give you license to listen all day.”

Ugh. License? This is a privilege that government or industry is supposed to grant?

As always, this ignores the natural incentives for listening or not listening to a ton of music. When I mow the lawn or ride an airplane, I use noise-cancellation headphones. Mine were expensive, but I’ve seen NC headphones as low as $50, cheap compared to an iPod. Other times I’m not listening to music because I’m doing something that requires my full attention.

I remember arguing with Dad about the music being too loud. If a bass note reached other parts of the house, I’d hear about it. In jest, it was difficult to determine if it was because of concern for my hearing or because he didn’t like 80’s pop/rock. Parental supervision is the most important natural incentive. They buy the equipment and pay for the house the kid lives in. They have every right to walk in that room, put on the headphones, and see what the kid is listening to. If they determine that the child can’t exercise proper judgment, they can take the iPod away, but perhaps this doesn’t need to happen if the kid misses the call for dinner because they couldn’t hear.

There are things in this world worth listening to that will never be on an iPod. If someone prefers to listen all day, perhaps they need to be shown or taught those things. The “dosage” problem then takes care of itself, without increasing the cost of equipment or preventing the equipment from being used with alternate sound equipment. Parenting one’s child lessens the cost to everybody else by preventing obvious mistakes.