EU to Limit MP3 Player Volume. People Everywhere Miss the Announcement Due to Tinnitus.

Sorry, but this has to get filed under the heading of “mind your own damn business.”  It seems that the EU is reviewing legislation that would require all mp3 players, including phones with the capability to limit output volume to 80 decibels.  Why you might ask?  It seems people like to listen to the devices too loudly and the EU believes that it’s their job to protect your hearing whether you like it or not.

Now I’m not against warning people of the dangers of hearing loss from various sources but come on!  People have been damaging their hearing ever since the first Walkman hit the streets.  In the early 90s when portable CD players ruled the busses and subways of cities I seem to remember hearing something similar.  It never got that far here in the US though.  What I can’t figure out is how mp3 players are so different than previous devices.  Because more people have them?  Using that rationale, the only way something is bad for us is if enough people are doing it.  That doesn’t make a whole lotta sense to me.  To be honest I was surprised that this didn’t come from the UK.  They appear love the nanny state and this seems right up their alley!

Either way, legislating behavior rarely works and while I don’t see it as being a huge deal, I do see people importing players to get around the law.  I’m not a politician but it seems that that might be more important things going on in the world right now.  It’ll be curious to see how far this gets before either being passed or slapped down by the EU commission.  Hopefully good sense will prevail but somehow I doubt it.

So what’s your take?  Do you think you listen to your music too loudly?  Do you believe that the government should step in and fix the issue?  Let us know in the comments!