Don't Lose The Music is brought to you by RNID

Best-selling Christmas present could damage a generation’s hearing

RNID - the UK’s largest charity representing the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people - is concerned that the nation’s top selling Christmas present is in danger of damaging a whole generation’s hearing if not used properly.  Personal stereo users could be risking long term damage to their hearing by turning up the volume to levels that could cause permanent hearing loss, like that experienced by Who guitarist Pete Townshend.

RNID runs the Don't Lose the Music campaign (www.dontlosethemusic.com), which is raising awareness amongst music fans of the dangers of over exposure to loud music.

Angela King, Senior Audiologist, RNID said:”Many people will have been given an MP3 player for Christmas, but there is a danger that long-term use of personal music players at high volume will permanently damage people’s hearing. RNID’s Don’t Lose the Music Campaign is urging people to be aware of the risks so they can continue to enjoy music for longer. Noise filters for in-ear headphones are available from many high street stores and regular breaks should be taken from listening.”
 
She adds: ” If you’re worried that you may already have some hearing loss, you can call RNID’s new telephone hearing check on 0845 600 5555”
 
RNID doesn't want to discourage people from listening to personal stereos and enjoying music and offers the following guidelines for safer listening:

  • Take regular breaks from your headphones to give your ears a rest. 
  • Turn down the volume a notch - even a small reduction in volume can make a big difference to the risk of damage to your hearing.   
  • Avoid using the volume to drown out background noise, for example the sound of the train or traffic (find out about additions to in-ear headphones that help with this problem 

For further information or to speak to an RNID spokesperson:

Please contact Susan Duncan, Senior Media Relations Officer, tel/text 020 7296 8136 or email susan.duncan@rnid.org.uk or 07944 038635 outside office hours.

Notes for editors:
RNID is the largest charity representing the 9 million deaf and hard of hearing people in the UK. As a membership charity, we aim to achieve a radically better quality of life for deaf and hard of hearing people. We do this in the following ways:

  • Campaigning and lobbying to change laws and government policies.
  • Challenging negative perceptions around deafness and hearing loss.
  • Providing information and raising awareness of deafness, hearing loss and tinnitus.
  • Training courses and consultancy on deafness and disability.
  • Communication services including sign language interpreters.
  • Training of interpreters, lipspeakers and speech-to-text operators.
  • Seeking lasting change in education for deaf children and young people.
  • Employment programmes to help deaf people into work.
  • Care services for deaf and hard of hearing people with additional needs.
  • Typetalk, the national telephone relay service for deaf and hard of hearing people.
  • Equipment and products for deaf and hard of hearing people.
  • Social, medical and technical research.

For more information about RNID, visit: www.rnid.org.uk or contact RNID's Information Line on 0808 808 0123 (freephone) or 0808 808 9000 (textphone) or email: information@rnid.org.uk