People who listen to their MP3 players and iPods at very high levels for hours everyday have no idea that they could be damaging their hearing says EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner, Maglena Kuneva.

Currently there are no European standards on the volume limit for mp3 players. In 2002 in France the Apple iPod was withdrawn from sale until Apple updated the software so the maximum sound level would be 100 decibels. French law now states that the maximum volume level on any MP3 players is 100db.

The current EU proposals call for the default setting on MP3 players to be reduced to 80db. This would apply to any portable music player including mobile phones but would only be the default setting and not the maximum. Consumers could still increase the volume under the new proposals but there will be warnings so they know the risks.

The new proposals are being considered but can take up to 2 years to actually be implemented.

The volume on all Apple iPods sold in Europe is limited to a maximum output of 100db.