Does music hurt your ears?

A few weeks ago I posted an entry on the topic of music, and whether or not listening to music helps you to study. This morning I read a story in the New York Times about the effect that today's music technology is having on our hearing. In Room For Debate: Why Teenagers Can't Hear You the effect of high rates of use of portable music devices on hearing is discussed.

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association this week found that one in five American teenagers now has some hearing loss. This is a 30 percent increase from just 15 years ago.

If you are playing your iPod loudly enough that I can hear it as I walk through the stacks.... you should probably turn the volume down.