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December 24, 2007 4:03 PM PST

Report: Apple working on auto-volume control for iPods

Posted by Michelle Meyers
hearing loss

Apple is developing a volume control device for its iPods that would automatically calculate how long a person has been listening and at what volume, before gradually reducing the sound level, all in an effort to protect users' hearing, according to the London-based Daily Mail.

Citing a new patent application, the report--to which Apple declined to comment--says the "device will also calculate the amount of 'quiet time' between when the iPod is turned off and when it is restarted, allowing the volume to be increased again to a safe level."

In February 2006, a Louisiana man filed a class action suit against Apple, saying the computer maker failed to take adequate steps to prevent hearing loss among iPod users. That was followed by warnings from politicians and researchers on hearing-loss hazards related to MP3 player use.

Apple responded by releasing a free software update for some iPods that lets listeners set a maximum volume limit. But we haven't heard much on the matter since.

Let's turn to rocker Pete Townshend for his foreshadowing quote: "I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," he said on his Web site two years ago. "Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be OK...But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead."

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Add a Comment (Log in or register) 29 comments (Page 1 of 2)
okay...
by BgFOOT323 December 24, 2007 5:38 PM PST
This is all well and good, but what will happen when I use my iPod with my FM transmitter, which requires the volume to be up all the way?
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acutally, sounds like something for the next iPhone
by alchemistmuffin December 24, 2007 5:42 PM PST
You know, I think the auto-volume will be first introduced for the 2nd generation iPhone, as it might be considered one of the three sensors for the iPhone: The ambiant sensor, the proximity sensor, and accelerometer sensor Then by fall comes, iPod is updated with the auto-volume control. all the function of auto-volume will probably be avalible to all ipod or iPhone owner by software update, or not
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Remember the movie "The Jerk".....
by cidman2001 December 24, 2007 7:21 PM PST
Steve Jobs...I mean Steve Martin invented a handle for glasses (The Optigrab)that sold millions and made him rich. Then they found out it made people irreversibly cross-eyed. The class-action suit that followed sent him back to being a "poor black man".... Seems there could be a lesson there!
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Litigious Americans...
by derekrobert December 24, 2007 7:21 PM PST
What that guy did was like buy a muscle car and then sue the maker cause it went too fast...but I guess in America there's money to be had for anything and everything.....
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Pete can't write
by nicmart December 24, 2007 8:10 PM PST
Townshend wrote: ""I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf." What might he mean by the "principal components" of "music"? Harmony and rhythm go deaf? Or does he mean that musicians are the "principal components" of music, which would be a very awkward of putting it. Maybe he means the listeners are the "principal components of music," but then music can be played without an audience, so listeners aren't principal. I suspect he means that the "principal components" are ears, but ears are a principal component of hearing, not music. (The brain is another component.) Pete should be wary of venturing beyond the simple confines of rock music. He plays music that, if listened to at excessive volume, causes deafness. He has continued to play it for many years after his own hearing loss, so his health admonition is tempered by the fact that he continues to earn a handsome living from the music that makes people deaf. What type of music doesn't cause deafness when listened to at excessive volume for too long?
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No thanks, "Dad," I don't need your "help."
by DarkHawke December 24, 2007 8:33 PM PST
I hope that this, if put into the iPod/iPhone firmware, will only be an OPTION, or at least if it's turned on by default one can then turn it off! I get the whole lawsuit thing, and I lament that there are so few judges in this country that have the guts to laugh candy-a$$ stuff like this out of their courtrooms. However, I as most folks achieved at least legal adulthood at age 18. From that point on, I'm responsible for my own actions and, yes, big ol' failures as well. I'm not deafening myself with my DAP, and I resent the implication that I'm so stupid that I'd do so if it weren't for this lawsuit or the kind offices of Apple, Inc.
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Are we really this helpless?
by Astinsan December 25, 2007 3:41 AM PST
Ok I get it... Hearing loss is bad. I do recall (when I purchased my ipod gen 3)the manual saying something to the fact that you could experience hearing loss at high volumes. (It was in the patronizing apple talk though... something sorta like) "we want you to enjoy our player for years to come. Please remember to keep the music at a low volume." not exact but I remember reading something like it. Are we all so helpless that we can't figure that out? I mean if a faucet had hot water running from it your going to react and make a choice. If you take off the headphones and can't hear... isn't it obvious? These lawsuits should be thrown out of court. If it goes through they better sue the gun companies for selling firearms that may kill someone. We should sue the rock queries for selling rock that may cause back problems. We should sue starbucks for selling a liquid that could potentially burn you.
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A patent for it? This is ridiculous
by galacticcruiser December 25, 2007 3:53 AM PST
Why does Apple need to file a patent for something so obvious (in terms of how one might want to implement it). This is ridiculous, not altruistic...
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Bite the hand
by nicmart December 25, 2007 4:22 AM PST
The proverb warns that 'You should not bite the hand that feeds you.' But maybe you should, if it prevents you from feeding yourself. -- Thomas Szasz (szasz.com)
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It is true!
by Lee in San Diego December 25, 2007 7:54 AM PST
It was reported in a newspaper so it must be true! Furthermore you have no choice in this matter; the iPod volume level will gradually decrease until it is zero and then you have to turn off the iPod to reset it! I will never buy anything from Apple and Steve Jobs is the anti-Christ. /snark Why don't you wait until Apple announces something before slamming it? You have absolutely no facts about the implementation of the technology.
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