Keep the volume down! UN issues guidelines for audio devices
GENEVA (AP) — Two U.N. agencies want governments and makers of headphones, mobile phones and other audio devices to do more to keep down the volume they emit amid concerns about hearing loss in an increasingly digitized era.
The World Health Organization and the International Telecommunications Union on Tuesday presented new standards, or voluntary guidelines, for the manufacture and use of personal audio devices.
WHO says nearly half of all people aged 12 to 35, or 1.1 billion people, are at risk of hearing loss due to “prolonged and excessive exposure to loud sounds.”
The recommendations say personal audio devices should include software to track exposure to sound. They should provide ways to limit volume, such as through parental controls, and tell people about the safety of their listening habits.
The Western Journal has not reviewed this Associated Press story prior to publication. Therefore, it may contain editorial bias or may in some other way not meet our normal editorial standards. It is provided to our readers as a service from The Western Journal.
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
