Potential Health Risks of Exposure to Noise from Personal Music Players and Mobile Phones Including a Music Playing Function Preliminary Report
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Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks SCENIHR Potential health risks of exposure to noise from personal music players and mobile phones including a music playing function Preliminary report The SCENIHR approved this opinion for public consultation at the 25th plenary on 24 June 2008 Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players About the Scientific Committees Three independent non-food Scientific Committees provide the Commission with the scientific advice it needs when preparing policy and proposals relating to consumer safety, public health and the environment. The Committees also draw the Commission's attention to the new or emerging problems which may pose an actual or potential threat. They are: the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP), the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) and the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) and are made up of external experts. In addition, the Commission relies upon the work of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the European Medicines Evaluation Agency (EMEA), the European Centre for Disease prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). SCENIHR Questions concerning emerging or newly-identified risks and on broad, complex or multi- disciplinary issues requiring a comprehensive assessment of risks to consumer safety or public health and related issues not covered by other Community risk- assessment bodies. In particular, the Committee addresses questions related to potential risks associated with interaction of risk factors, synergic effects, cumulative effects, antimicrobial resistance, new technologies such as nanotechnologies, medical devices, tissue engineering, blood products, fertility reduction, cancer of endocrine organs, physical hazards such as noise and electromagnetic fields and methodologies for assessing new risks. Scientific Committee members Anders Ahlbom, James Bridges, Wim De Jong, Philippe Hartemann, Thomas Jung, Mats-Olof Mattsson, Jean-Marie Pagès, Konrad Rydzynski, Dorothea Stahl, Mogens Thomsen. Contact: European Commission Health & Consumer Protection DG Directorate C: Public Health and Risk Assessment Unit C7 - Risk Assessment Office: B232 B-1049 Brussels [email protected] © European Commission 2008 (ISSN) The opinions of the Scientific Committees present the views of the independent scientists who are members of the committees. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Commission. The opinions are published by the European Commission in their original language only. http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/risk_en.htm 2 Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Members of the working group are acknowledged for their valuable contribution to this opinion. The members of the working group are: SCENIHR members: Prof. Konrad Rydzynski (Chair) Dr. Thomas Jung External experts: Dr. Yves Cazals, Université Paul Cézanne, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Marseille, France. Prof. Adrian Davis1, OBE FFPH FSS FRSA, Director NHS Newborn Hearing Screening Programme, Director MRC Hearing and Communication Group, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK. Prof. Staffan Hygge2, Laboratory of Applied Psychology, Centre for Built Environment, University of Gävle, Gävle, Sweden. Prof. Deepak Prasher3, Ear Institute, University College London, London, UK. Dr. Paolo Ravazzani4, Istituto di Ingegneria Biomedica CNR, Milano, Italy. Prof. Mariola Śliwińska-Kowalska5, MD, PhD (Rapporteur). Centre of Audiology and Phoniatrics, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lódz, Poland. Dr. Hans Verschuure6, Secretary-General International Society of Audiology, ENT-Hearing and Speech Center, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. 1 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_020.pdf ; http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_021.pdf) 2 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_021.pdf) 3 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_020.pdf) 4 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_020.pdf) 5 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_020.pdf ; http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_023.pdf) 6 Declared interest (see the minutes of the SCENIHR Plenary: http://ec.europa.eu/health/ph_risk/committees/04_scenihr/docs/scenihr_mi_020.pdf) 3 Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players ABSTRACT Exposure to excessive noise is a major cause of hearing disorders worldwide. It is attributed to occupational noise. Besides noise at workplaces, which may contribute to 16% of the disabling hearing loss in adults, loud sounds at leisure times may reach excessive levels for instance in discos and personal music players (PMPs). It is estimated that over two decades the numbers of young people with social noise exposure has tripled (to around 19%) since the early 1980s, whilst occupational noise had decreased. The increase in unit sales of portable audio devices including MP3 has been phenomenal in the EU over the last four years. Estimated units sales ranged between 184-246 million for all portable audio devices and between 124-165 million for MP3 players. Noise-induced hearing loss is the product of sound level by duration of exposure. In order to counteract noise-induced hearing loss more effectively, a European directive “Noise at Work Regulations” taking effect starting February 2006, established the minimal security level at the equivalent noise exposure limit to 80 dB(A) for an 8 hour working day (or 40 hour working week), assuming that below this level the risk to hearing is negligible. The 8-hour equivalent level (Lequ,8h) is a widely used measure for the risk of hearing damage in industry, and can equally be applied to leisure noise exposures. The free-field equivalent sound pressure levels measured at maximum volume control setting of PMPs range around 80-115 dB(A) across different devices, and differences between different types of ear-phones may modify this level by up to 7-9 dB. The mean time of exposure ranges from below 1 hour to 14 hours a week. Considering the daily (or weekly) time spent on listening to music through PMPs and typical volume control settings it has been estimated that the average, A-weighted, eight hour equivalent sound exposures levels (referred to “Noise at Work Regulations”) from PMPs typically range from 75 to 85 dB(A). Such levels produce minimal risk of hearing impairment for the majority of PMP users. However, approximately 5% - 10% of the listeners are at high risk due to the levels patterns and duration of their listening preferences. The best estimate from the limited data we have available suggests that this maybe between 2.5 and 10m people in EU. Those are the individuals listening to music over 1 hour a day at high volume control setting. Excessive noise can damage several cell types in the ear and lead to tinnitus, temporary or permanent hearing loss (deafness). Published data indicate that excessive acute exposures to PMPs music at maximal or near maximal output volume can produce temporary and reversible hearing impairment (tinnitus and slight deafness). Major discrepancies exist between the results of the studies on permanent noise-induced hearing loss in PMP users, with both, positive and negative studies published. Tinnitus and hearing fatigue may occur more frequently in teenagers chronically exposed to music, including PMP users, than in non-users. In addition to auditory effects harmful, lasting and irreversible non-auditory effects of excessive listening to PMP can be expected; they include cardiovascular effects, cognition as well as distraction and masking effects. However, there is not sufficient evidence to state that music from PMPs constitutes a risk for such effects. In the face of the large increases in risk to hearing (and tinnitus) due to increasing PMP use, there is a lack of data concerning: a) the current PMP use pattern, duration and output level and exposure of users to other high level sound sources. b) the contribution of noise to hearing difficulties and cognitive and attention deficits in children and young people. c) long-term studies using more sensitive measures (e.g. otoacoustic emissions) to assess the impact of PMPs on hearing and identify the potential sub-groups more ‘at risk’ (e.g. genetic sub-groups and environmental sub-groups such as those who commute to work or school in noisy surroundings). 4 Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players d)biological basis of individual susceptibility to noise and the benefits from pharmacological treatment. e) whether excessive voluntary PMP-listening leads to lasting and irreversible cognitive and attention deficits after the cessation of the noise. Keywords : Health effects, Noise, Noise Induced Hearing Loss, Personal Music Players, SCENIHR Opinion to be cited as : [to be added after adoption] 5 Health risks from exposure to noise from personal music players TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ..........................................................................................