Music lovers have pledged to keep hold of their iPods — despite fears that the high-tech devices pose a danger to mental health.
Owners of iPods or other computer-based MP3 musical players are universally upbeat about their usefulness.
The ease of being able to carry around thousands of songs on a single small contraption outweighs the risks of developing musical hallucination, according to residents.
None has reported hearing songs constantly in their head after their players are switched off, despite reports in the United Kingdom that this can happen.
Fashion photographer Russ Kientsch, who has dual Swiss and British nationality, said his iPod was invaluable as a back-up to store his pictures.
“It’s incredibly useful for my work. It’s also great for music because you can put so much stuff on it — thousands of songs.
“However, I don’t use it for listening to music much — I prefer to put a stereo on in a room. I certainly haven’t had any health problems because of it.”
Mark Allan, a 42-year-old fish wholesaler from England, does not have an iPod of his own, but he did buy one for his daughter at Christmas last year.
“She downloaded about 200 songs on to it and says it’s the only thing that keeps her going when she commutes to work. She swears by it,” he said.
Allan was dismissive of the possible psychological risks of iPods, saying there have been health scares linked to a huge variety of products, including mobile phones.
“There is a song that includes the lyrics Everything Gives You Cancer which says don’t do this and don’t do that because it is bad for you. This report is just part of that culture of saying things are dangerous,” he said.
For all his defence of the iPod, Allan said he probably would not buy one for himself.
“I think I’m a bit long in the tooth for one,” he said.
Indian logistics co-ordinator Nadeem Khan, 25, has an MP3 player and is thinking of buying an iPod as they offer more functions.
“This scare won’t put me off using my MP3. It’s very neat, it’s very compact and you can carry it everywhere. I use it everyday and I can connect it to my car stereo so it can play about 500 songs. It’s great,” he said.
John Thompson, a 53-year-old from Scotland who works in the oil and gas industry, is another MP3 enthusiast.
“I use it a lot when I travel — when I am on the plane for example. I’ve got about 4,000 songs on it. I have not had any problems at all.”
RESEARCHExpert warns of hallucinations
Listening to an iPod could leave you with psychological problems, an expert warns.
He says exposure to music is causing more cases of musical hallucination, where a song “plays” constantly in the head.
“People find they can’t sleep and can’t think properly,” said Dr Victor Aziz, a UK-based psychiatrist, whose research involved 30 sufferers.
In May, a UK audiology expert warned listening to music at high volume could cause tinnitus and inner ear damage. Dr Aziz said the condition he is warning about causes the brain to hear phantom music. This is different from the common occurrence of having a song “stuck” in your head because the sound is continuous and appears real.
He predicted the condition will become more common as people are inundated with music.
— Evening Standard
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