“Don’t misuse your iPod”, warns The Who guitarist

Pete Townshend, the famous guitarist of the British rock band, The Who, warns young people about the risk of listening to music on mp3 players and other digital audio players. He recommends turning the volume down before it is too late for your hearing.

“Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you may be ok. But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead,” Pete Townshend stated on his website - www.petetownshend.co.uk.

Blames his earphones

Pete Townshend, a 60 year old rock legend, was devastated when he realised that he had an irreversible hearing problem. He suffers from tinnitus, a constant buzzing noise in both ears, and a progressive hearing loss, which obliges him to rest 36 hours between recording sessions, and caused him to postpone his worldwide tour and other projects. According to the guitarist who used to smash his guitars on stage in the 60’s, his hearing loss was not caused by the loud music played at The Who performances, but by the many years using earphones in the recording studio sessions. "I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," wrote Pete Townshend on his website. It's hardly surprising that musicians and singers suffer from hearing problems and even deafness after long-term exposure to loud music. However, the more general trend is that more and more young people suffer from hearing loss due to loud noise exposure from mp3 players, iPods, night clubs and concerts.

Sources: http://www.petetownshend.co.uk/diary/display.cfm?id=231&zone=diary, 29 December 2005, www.kget.com, 3 January 2006, www.elmundo.es, 4 January 2006, and www.pennlive.com, 8 January 2006.