Assaulting my ears is as bad as polluting my lungs

Zeta says:

07:48am | 02/10/09

When I don’t have to listen to inane conversations on iPhones, our ridiculously loud public transport infrastructure crunching along, the Orwellian tones of CityRail Sally telling me not to push my pram off the platform, then maybe I’ll stop blasting you with my headphones.

And if anyone tries to limit the volume on iPods, good, it will prove they’re a useless piece of status tech. My mp3 player can be taken apart.

jonathan says:

07:58am | 02/10/09

Correct me if I’m wrong (I’m sure some Apple fanboys out there know more than me…) but my understanding is that the first few generations of iPods sold in Europe were volume restricted.  So it’s not really a new thing, they were sold that way because of legislation.

Hopium says:

09:22am | 02/10/09

I need mine up loud. Any quieter and I can’t hear it.

One of the problems with being rather deaf to begin with.

Limit the volume and I can’t listen to music at all.

Garry says:

09:27am | 02/10/09

I actually find those who love their earphones to be amusing.  I travel most days by public transport, one route passes a school and a university and I am always amused at the number of people who sit there headphones on lost in their own world. I do not mind that, I am generally the same but recently the most interesting of situations occured, to which this article reminded me.

I was there listening to a dramtised audiobook written by John Le Carre. Next to me was a younger guy listening to something with a loud set of drums - at least I think so. near by sat a guy listening to something equally as loud… hiss.hisss.. hisssss… and another a lady talking and laughing on the phone. Over that was the rattle of the bus vibrating as it stood at lights and then over that two kids having a discussion - yes a real disussion - and laughing.  I tell you my drama just sounded like a low murmer over these.

The bus stops at the university, great many will get off, but as they are here in Perth the bus has a ‘tag off’ system. The back doors did not work so the driver was yelling, ‘front doors please’ and of course people with headphones still tried the back door. Poor driver got irritated, people with a pulled of one side of the headphones and ‘huffed’ as they went out the front door… but still he had to say it four more times to get through to some.

Ah, the lonely life of a headphone wearer…

But yes, the headphones volumes allow for too high volume and the constant hiss. hiss.. crash bang sounds means the sounds are too high for others comfort and way to much for the wearers ears.

Duke says:

09:44am | 02/10/09

Hopium says:09:22am | 02/10/09

I need mine up loud. Any quieter and I can’t hear it.

One of the problems with being rather deaf to begin with.

Limit the volume and I can’t listen to music at all.

So we should all suffer in public for your selfish activity?  Listen to your doof doof at home and read book on the bus…

Karen says:

09:47am | 02/10/09

Unfortunately it’s a pointless exercise, those who prefer volume can still purchase volume boosting earphones very easily.

Another attempt to use mandatory controls to replace what should be basic human behaviour. If it’s too loud, just politely ask them to turn it down.  Do we really need a govt to do this for us, just because we are too afraid to have a conversation with a stranger? What’s the worst outcome - they’ll say no - big deal. Do we want to be this type of passive aggressive society?

Maybe our intention is to control every nuance of people’s lives until we have no reason to talk to another person.

RT says:

10:51am | 02/10/09

The background noise heard while on trains or buses is too high to safely listen to an ipod or similar. However, it also drowns out most of the sound ‘leaking’ from the earplugs of another person nearby. I think it’s not something to complain about, really, just another part of urban noise.

Dave says:

11:13am | 02/10/09

You can’t legislate consideration for other people.  All you can do is hope that their music will one day drown out the sound of an approaching bus.

Trjn says:

11:29am | 02/10/09

Inner ear/noise cancelling headphones.

I have them and use my iPod on very low volume because I don’t need to drown out all the other noises to be able to hear it, they’re already blocked out. Of course, the whole iPod isolation thing still happens, but I’d like to think I’m aware enough that if anything happens around me I’d still notice.

It’s not really any worse than somebody reading a book on the bus and getting drawn in enough to not notice anything else.

MC says:

12:46pm | 02/10/09

What about people sitting two seats away from each other inflicting their loud and personal conversation on me? Or the small children running amok and shouting, crashing into me and my belongings and not caring? Or the dude with the guitar and surfboard who wants to share his musical inability with the world? Short of mandating a “sit down, shut up and hold on” (as my Dad would say…) approach, I will continue to travel with my own soundtrack. Travel etiquette is the responsibility of all passengers - not just those with earphones.

mikk says:

12:49pm | 02/10/09

I agree
and look forward to the day when such sentiments are applied across the board.
Turn down your lawnmowers,, your cars, your factories, your trucks, your muzac, your leafblowers and power saws. We are surrounded by offensive noise pollution that “assaults our ears” and concentrating on personal music players is fatuous and pointless dribble to say the least.

Nola says:

01:26pm | 02/10/09

I love it, we can’t even be trusted to use our iPods responsibly anymore. Society is, on the whole, completely unable to make decisions about our own wellbeing. Classic.

jonathan says:

01:44pm | 02/10/09

First world problems, people.

Get a little bit of perspective.

KJ says:

01:46pm | 02/10/09

I’m not one to have earphones in as I feel to cut off, but why can’t people just realise we live in a high desity society. Surely the sound of someone else going about their day can’t be the biggest problem, and what happens when we stamp out one annoying issue all that will do is bring another annoying issue to the front of the que. If you don’t want to notice the rest of the world around you going about thier day move away from society or better still turn your own volume up

Anthony says:

03:18pm | 02/10/09

I am a twenty year old who studies music, so I never have my earphones very loud because I know how peoples ears get damaged! It’s silly how people think they can get away with blasting noise in thier ears and not have future repercussions.