NEW EU STANDARDS COULD SAFEGUARD THE HEARING OF MERSEYSIDERS

RNID, the largest charity in the UK working with hearing loss and hearing health, welcomes the mandate to develop new regulations for personal music players, set out on Tuesday, 29 September 2009, by the European Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Meglena Kuneva at RNID's head office in London.

Personal music players include all devices that play music through headphones - such as MP3 players and mobile phones. RNID's Don’t Lose the Music campaign has been lobbying the European Commission and manufacturers to raise awareness about the risks of hearing damage for people who listen to personal music players at high volume levels for long periods of time. The EU Scientific Committee, warned that listening to personal music players at a high volume over a sustained period can lead to permanent hearing damage. 5 to 10% of listeners risk permanent hearing loss. These are people typically listening to music for over 1 hour a day at high volume control settings.

The new standards will make it clear that safe use depends on exposure time and volume levels. The default settings will be limited to 80 dB(A) and exposure should be limited to 40 hours/week. Consumers can choose to override these settings, but will be warned about the risks of hearing damage if they do. Personal music player manufacturers will also be required to include clear on-pack warnings and hearing damage information in product literature, so that music fans know when they’ve reached a damaging volume and can take action to protect their hearing.

Welcoming the mandate for new standards, RNID Chief Executive, Jackie Ballard said:- “This is a huge step forward in our aim to protect people's hearing from serious, permanent damage in later life. Hearing loss can have a profound affect on a person's life - it can cause social isolation and lead people to withdraw from family, work and friends. We want to help people do all they can to prevent hearing loss and tinnitus. By recognising the effects of too much loud music now, people will be able to enjoy listening to music for longer.

As these proposals are developed, it is essential that manufacturers of personal music players are supportive of these plans and we look forward to working in partnership with industry, legislators and campaigners to get the messages right and safeguard the hearing of a generation of music lovers.“

Overall, in the EU, it is estimated that roughly 50 to 100 million people may be listening to portable music players on a daily basis. EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner Meglena Kuneva, said:- “The evidence is that particularly young people - who are listening to music at high volumes sometimes for hours each week - have no idea they can be putting their hearing at risk. These standards make small technical changes to players so that by default, normal use is safe. If consumers chose to override the default settings they can, but there will be clear warnings so they know the risks they are taking."

Don’t Lose the Music recommends that personal music listeners should take a 5 minute rest every hour to allow their ears to recover and should not turn up the volume to drown out background noise in the street or on public transport.

For more information on exposure to loud music and hearing protection visit dontlosethemusic.com. 

If you are worried about your hearing you can take RNID’s online hearing check rnid.org.uk/hearingcheck or telephone them on 0844 800 3838.

OVER-TIMETABLING

SHATTERED kids are ‘working’ for up to 53 hours a week, according to a new survey.  The shock research shows that pushy parents are over-timetabling their children with extra-curricular activities in addition to their school commitments.  This means exhausted children are actually working harder than the average parent who only completes a 35 hour week at work. 

The average child already completes 32.5 hours a week at school Monday to Friday, as well as 6 hours of homework each week.  But on top of this, parents enrol kids into at least 3 activities a week, such as language lessons, sports clubs and music lessons.  This adds a further 3 hours to an already exhausting timetable of events.  In addition, most parents say they actively read with their children for at least 44 minutes a day – or 5 hours and 10 minutes a week.  And finally, to make absolutely sure their child has the very best chance of getting ahead, the average parents also spends 1 hour a day, or 7 hours a week, teaching their children through play.

Nigel Crawford, spokesperson for TheBabyWebsite.com,  which commissioned the poll of 3,000 parents of school children said:- “These figures really are incredible, and seem to indicate that children are losing out on a real childhood.  I’m sure most parents will be able to relate to the findings, and admit they too enrol their child into every class going and try to be as active and hands-on as possible with their kids.  Unfortunately there’s a very fine line between giving a child the attention and time they deserve, and overloading them with information and learning.”

The poll reveals that 85% of parents feel it is right to try and educate their children as much as possible when they are not in the school environment.  And 54% admit they have always been concerned about their child’s development, worrying whether they know as much as other children in their age group.  At least half of parents have spent hours and hours trying to teach their children how to recite their alphabet, numbers, days of the week, cities and months of the year.  Catching a ball, swimming, and knowing how to cook basic foods are also high on the list of things parents think children should know by the time they go to school.

However, 36% of those polled admit they worry their child does too much, and 53% have considered that their child should spend more time having fun.  But 27% of parents have at some point taken their child out of classes such as swimming, learning French or piano, claiming their child look exhausted from all the activities they were doing. 

However, 8 in 10 parents are convinced their child won’t know they are learning through play, as they make everything they do fun.  And 89% say they genuinely believe they are trying to do the best by their child in the long run.

Nigel Crawford continues:- “Parents often don’t realise the importance of learning through play and as a result can end up encouraging or even pushing their children into as many organised activities as they can.”

AVERAGE CHILD’S WEEKLY TIMETABLE

Attends school - 32.5 hours a week
Homework - 6 hours a week
Three classes - 3 hours a week
Active read to / with - 5 hours and 10 minutes a week
Being taught through play - 7 hours a week

TOTAL TIME SPENT WORKING 53 HOURS AND 40 MINUTES A WEEK