Loud music lovers warned about 'MP3 ear'

4:30pm Tuesday 26th June 2007

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Young people who use MP3 players and iPods are being urged to check their hearing with a simple test card being offered by an Oxford audiologist.

The Oxford Hearing Centre in Botley is one of only two places in the UK to use the simple checking system, which plays sounds like a novelty greetings card.

Senior partner Richard Moss said stigma attached to deafness discouraged many people from having their hearing examined, so the free card was a good way for them to do a discreet check in their own home.

He added that although hearing problems were seen as an elderly person's problem, more and more young adults who enjoyed loud music through earphones or in clubs were getting symptoms usually associated with old age.

The problem is commonly known as MP3 Ear.

Mr Moss said: "If MP3 players are used at too high a volume for long periods of time it can cause age-related damage in the ear which is similar to the deterioration of hearing usually suffered by an old person.

"Across Western Europe audiologists are seeing this type of hearing loss in younger people - sometimes 15-20 years younger than usual.

"In Germany, it's the norm for clubbers to wear earplugs. But in this country you are seen as a wuss if you wear them.

"That's why I would advise anyone and everyone to have their hearing checked."

The Oxford Hearing Centre is issuing 1,500 test cards as part of its Clearer Hearing Initiative.

Designed in America, the device has four tiny speakers which emit four different sounds testing low to high frequencies, offering a snapshot of someone's hearing ability.

In the UK, it is only available in Oxford and Harpenden, Hertfordshire.

Mr Moss said: "About 48 million people in this country have never had a hearing test, but they'll happily have their eyes and teeth checked regularly.

"It can be very dangerous if you can't hear properly. If one ear is damaged, you hear everything in the other ear, so for example you may not realise the direction a car is travelling when you cross the road."