Hey, What Was That You Said?
by the Gadget Gals
It's estimated by the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders that "30 million Americans are exposed to hazardous sound levels on a regular basis." Some of them may be your children blasting music into their ears. The proliferation of MP3 players among children of all ages makes it likely the figure won't remain at 30 million for long. Irreparable hearing loss may occur at decibels above 85, especially if this loud sound continues over a period of time. Over 12% of young people are said to have noise induced hearing loss.MP3 players can go up to 105 decibels, which is way to high to be coming directly into your children's ear canals. A pneumatic drill, for example, is 100 decibels and an airplane taking off if 110. What happens is that kids like loud music and generally set the volume too high. Then when any outside noise such as street noise occurs, they set the gadgets at a higher level. MP3 players, like the iPod come with controls that may be set, and the MP3 player that Califone will have out in November 2007 will meet the standards set by ASHA (American Speech Language Hearing Association). This MP3 player is designed for schools so that teachers can set the level of sound. Even though the product is targeted to the education market, it looks like a great one for homes, too. The Califone includes a built-in microphone to better enable podcasting and dual headphone jacks, which help to eliminate outside noise. Often, it's outside noise that entices children to turn up the volume. So check out the Califone site in Fall 2007 for additional information about this MP3 player and it's pricing. It's a gadget you may want to tell your school about. Press Release on the Player
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