Tuning In? Turn It Down

Turn It Down If you tune in, turn down the volume. In public settings, people turn up the volume to compensate for "the cacophony of everyday sound," says Brian Fligor, a member of the American Academy of Audiology. Sponsor Message In-ear headphones can boost an MP3 player's sound by as much as nine decibels over what an over-the-ear headset can produce, Fligor says. His research shows that subjects using either kind of listening device typically set the volume to achieve similar levels of perceived sound output. In the United States, there's no recommended industry cap because there's "been no standard agreement of what constitutes a safe level," says Laura Hubbard, a spokeswoman for the Consumer Electronics Association, whose members include makers of MP3 players.