iPod can both save and / or destroy your hearing

I wasn't going to post about this, but then the other conflicting story came in, and it just makes too much weird internet beauty to go overlooked. Both of these reports come via MacDailyNews, which reports that one fortunate Londoner in the recent bombings had his hearing saved by his iPod's earphones and that iPods can cause hearing damage.

I love the contradiction between these two stories, and the way that the iPod is a magical force of good in one and a magical force of evil in the other. In all reality, there is nothing iPod-specific about either story. Anything sitting in the Londoner's ears would have helped prevent hearing damage from the explosion: fingers, cotton, lots of wax, or any other music device's earphones / headphones. Likewise, listening to anything too loudly—whether in your car with the stereo cranked, at home with the stereo cranked, at a concert right next to the speakers, or while riding your bike with any sort of portable music device blasting the tunes over the wires into your ears—can cause hearing loss. So, neither story is actually newsworthy alone except for the iPod bit being flashy. In tandem, however, they amused me enough to warrant this post.

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I wasn't going to post about this, but then the other conflicting story came in, and it just makes too much weird internet beauty to go...

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MIKE

There are quite more important issues to tackle than iPods people. Please.

August 08 2005 at 1:11 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

C.K. Sample, III

S. Lissner, 1. I'm an English professor and doctoral candidate in English. I know my grammar. 2. The "and / or" is intentional b/c I'm highlighting the bad logic of both claims and the contradiction of MacDailyNews posting both stories. This, I thought, was extremely witty on my part. I'm sorry you didn't get the joke and that it offended you so.

July 11 2005 at 7:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

narco

Well, sorry to burst in, but he/she didn't pluralize "White." If you're going to berate someone over berating someone over grammar... :) Fishes, narco.

July 11 2005 at 6:52 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Charles

Ahem. Those look ever so like the two contrasts I blogged at 1135 BST at http://www.charlesarthur.com/blog/index.php?p=507 . What a remarkable coincidence MDN found them so soon after...

July 11 2005 at 6:48 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Jack

S. Lissner said: "Read Strunk and Whyte's(sic) "Elements of Style."" It's Strunk and WHITE. No plural. And no "Y". If you're going to berate someone over grammar, you might as well have a good grip on language use yourself. PS: Can iPods cause or cure cancer?

July 11 2005 at 6:16 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

S Lissner

"iPod can both save and / or destroy your hearing" is awful English because "and/or" is illogical and bad nineteenth-century legalese. Did you mean, "iPod can save or destroy your hearing"? How can an iPod both destroy and save your hearing? Once your hearing is gone, it can't be saved. Read Strunk and Whyte's "Elements of Style."

July 11 2005 at 4:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

narco

Duh. If you listen to any device loud enough it could cause hearing loss -- that is purely up to the listener. I can't believe people get paid to write such obvious crap. Steve M, if your iPod is still under warranty, you can go to the support tab on the Apple website and fill out a form to replace your earbuds (that is if you want the same ones). I've done that a couple times and they're very quick to send out new ones -- usually a couple days after. Fishes, narco.

July 11 2005 at 4:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Not sure about my hearing (I'm old enough it has gotten bad without the iPod,) but my iPod ear buds have gone wonkers lately. Any suggestions for a replacement? I don't have to replace them with identical Apple earphones.

July 11 2005 at 4:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Ruju

Im so glad you posted this - i saw this glaring contradiction too on Mac Zicos and wanted to say something :) So good that they came out on the same day

July 11 2005 at 3:45 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

escdotdot

I can't remember where I read this, but apparently the iPod engineers made it's output louder than other players because Steve Jobs is slightly deaf.

July 11 2005 at 3:41 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply