VOLUME OF PERSONAL MUSIC PLAYERS

That this House is alarmed at research by the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) that 66 per cent. of users of personal music players are listening to music at louder than 85 decibels, which according to the World Health Organisation can cause permanent hearing damage over time; is deeply concerned that other research across Europe has led the European Commission to warn that up to 10 per cent. of 30-year-olds will have to wear a hearing device within the next decade because they listen to music too loudly through headphones; notes that recent research carried out at Ghent University in Belgium has identified that listening to an MP3 player for just one hour can damage hearing; is deeply concerned that surveys show more than 90 per cent. of young people use MP3 players, often for several hours a day at top volume; calls on the Government to make it a requirement that all personal music players sold in the UK have a noise health warning forming part of the casing; and further calls on the Government to launch a national campaign warning of the serious hearing consequences to those who use personal music players as well as the additional financial burden which will be placed on the National Health Service in the future.