They've been trotting out this news since the iPod was invented, but now a British hearing loss charity has put some muscle and some numbers behind the news that portable music players could be making millions of young people lose their ability to hear.

The UKers at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People tested 110 random people and found that 72 of them were listening above an unsafe level: 85 decibels, the level at which prolonged listening can cause damage to your hearing. The study also found that "almost half of young people who use MP3 players listen for more than an hour a day, with a quarter listening for more than 21 hours a week."

85 decibels is about equal to a loud alarm clock at close range.

Many people (and I've been guilty of this myself) crank up the volume in order to drown out surrounding noise, especially when commuting or on an airplane. On my last plane trip I forgot my earphones and tried to use the plane's provided ones: I still couldn't hear anything but a bare whisper, even at maximum volume!

While it's pushing for warning labels on music players, the RNIDP offers the same advice I would, which should be far more effective: Invest in a pair of good noise-canceling earbuds or headphones, which let you listen comfortably at a lower overall volume and generally provide better sound quality while they're at it.

LINK: MP3 users 'risking hearing loss'