The European Commission said today it wants to implement new rules for the makers of MP3 players that would require them to follow new volume standards.

The Commission pointed to a study that found listening to personal music players at a high volume over a long period can lead to permanent hearing damage and 5 to 10 percent of listeners risk permanent hearing loss. It's estimated that up to 10 million people in the EU may be at risk.

Meglena Kuneva,
EU Commissioner

"It's easy to push up the sound levels on your MP3 player to damagingly loud levels, especially on busy streets or public transport. And 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. It can take years for the hearing damage to show, and then it is simply too late," said Meglena Kuneva, EU Consumer Affairs Commissioner.

"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."

The EU plans to implement the new MP3 volume standards after a 24-month process involving scientists, industry and consumer groups as well as other stakeholders.