Potential health risks of exposure to noise from personal music ...

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Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music playersThere are major discrepancies between the results of the studies on permanent NIHL inPMP users. They could arise from different study designs and methodology. Most of thesestudies showed none or only small permanent effect of using PMP on hearing in themajority of users, if consequences were assessed with audiometric hearing thresholds,over a period of a few years, whilst participants in the research were still young. On theother hand there is a population study which indicates such a risk. In the third nationalhealth and nutrition examination survey of 1988-1994 in the USA it was found that,among children aged 6-19 years, 12.5% had noise-induced threshold shift (NITS) in oneor both ears, with higher prevalence in boys (14.2%) compared to girls (10.1%), and inolder children aged 12-19 (15.5%) compared to 6-11 year olds (8.5%). Moreover,among children meeting NITS criteria 14.6% had a noise notch for both ears. Thiswarning study needs confirmation and no equivalent data exist on the Europeanpopulation.In the face of an increasing population at risk of hearing loss and tinnitus due to i)increasing PMPs use and acceptance in the EU and ii) the possibility to use PMPs at highsound levels, there is a lack of data concerning:a) the current PMP use pattern, duration, output level, choice of loud levels and exposureof users to other high level sound sources.b) the contribution of loud sounds to hearing loss and tinnitus, as well as cognitive andattention deficits in children and young people.c) long-term studies using more sensitive hearing impairment measures to assess theimpact of PMPs on hearing and to identify the potential sub-groups more ‘at risk’ (e.g.children, genetic sub-groups and environmental sub-groups such as those who commuteto work or school in noisy surroundings).d) biological basis of individual susceptibility to noise and the benefits frompharmacological treatment.e) whether excessive voluntary PMP-listening leads to lasting and irreversible cognitiveand attention deficits after the cessation of the noise.10
Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players1. BACKGROUNDThe health effects of exposure to noise have been known for a long time, in particularnoise-induced hearing damage such as irreversible hearing loss and impairment. Hearingloss appears to accompany ageing, but noise induced hearing damage can be preventedto a large extent by reducing exposure time and levels. Measures to this effect have beenintroduced at the workplace.Recently the attention of the Commission services has been drawn to the need toreassure itself that sufficient preventive measures are in place to prevent hearingdamage among children and adolescents from the noise of personal music players andradio communication devices including such a facility 7 .The regulatory framework governing the safety of this equipment is as follows:• The Radio and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) Directive 81999/5/EC governs the health and safety aspects of radio equipment, includingmobile phones;• The Low Voltage Directive (LVD) 2006/95/EC 9 governing the health and safety ofelectrical equipment within certain voltage ranges lists the standards referred tobelow for other types of equipment;• The General Product Safety Directive 10 (GPSD) 2001/95/EC seeks to ensure thatall consumer products are safe where this aspect is not further detailed in anyother “specific” EU legislation (including personal music players).The R&TTE and LV Directives make reference to European Harmonised Standard EN60065:2002 “Audio, video and similar electronic apparatus - Safety requirements”. Thisstandard provides the technical detail to ensure the safety of users of personal musicplayers with headphones or earphones. It requires compliance with maximum pressurelevel and maximum voltage outputs measured following the methods described instandards EN 50332-1:2000 and EN 50332-2:2003. None of the standards currentlyrequire any specific labelling in respect of noise emissions.In 2005 the French authorities updated a national Order of 1998 aimed at preventingusers of personal audio equipment from suffering long term hearing impairment 11 . Inaddition to the maximum pressure and voltage requirements prescribed in the twoharmonised standards mentioned above the French national Order requires informationand/or labelling for the end user. The revised Order entered into force on 1 May 2006and its scope includes both personal audio equipment and mobile telephones.The Commission considers it necessary to request the Scientific Committee on Emergingand Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) to assess whether the health of citizens isappropriately protected by the current requirements of the above-mentioned Communitydirectives and European standards.7891011Digital technologies have stimulated the distribution and use of a new generation of personal musicplayers. The digital music players available on the market have maximum output noise levels of 90 to 120dB(A). Furthermore, using software available on the internet enables to exceed these levels and reachvalues of 130 dB(A).http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31999L0005:EN:NOThttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2006:374:0010:0019:EN:PDFhttp://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001L0095:EN:NOTFrench Order of 8th November 2005 implementing Article L. 5232-1 of the Public Health Code11
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