MADISON, Wis. -- Music on your mp3 player might sound sweet but studies show it could be paving a path to hearing problems.

Audiologists said that they're already seeing the signs in young people who listen to a lot of music and have a history of going to concerts.

That fact hasn't stopped people from buying mp3 players and using them everywhere, like Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin campus.

"I use it when I run and in between classes and when I study I use it as background noise," said University of Wisconsin freshmen Jolene Paulus.

"When I workout, class everywhere, anytime I'm not at home I have it on," added junior Cory Sims.

It's not just having an mp3 player that could lead to potential hearing loss, what matters is how high the volume is cranked and for how long.

"I like a good volume," said Sims. "If it's too quiet, I hear other noises going on and I don't like to hear it. I block it out, zone out."

Paulus agreed, "Going to classes, it's noisy with a lot of construction so I have to put it at a loud level."

This is something that concerns audiologists. New studies suggest prolonged high volume listening could lead to premature hearing loss. To test this, News 3 picked UW student Laura Spoehr at random, had her meet at UW Health for a hearing test.

"Do you have any ringing in your ears?" asks UW Medical School audiologist Richard Sauer.

Before administering the test, he asked Spoehr some questions.

"What volume do you use it at? Half? Full?" he asked.

Then, he left Spoehr in a soundproof booth to test the threshold of her hearing, or how high and low she can hear, by sounding a series of beeps. Spoehr just got her mp3 player at Christmas so as expected, her hearing is fine.

But Sauer warned Spoehr to watch her volume levels. He explains that at full volume, it's the equivalent of standing next to an ambulance siren and at half volume, it's like riding on a snowmobile.

That means with the volume cranked, permanent hearing damage occurs after less than 1 minute. At half volume, damage can occur in 15 minutes.

The type of mp3 player used also makes a huge difference. The chart below shows the average range for a variety of mp3 players and a bluetooth headset.

Whether the listener wears a headphone that's in the ear or over the ear also plays a factor.

Studies show hearing damage can occur using over-the-ear headphones at half volume after about an hour. Using earbuds, at the same volume level, the safe listening drops to just 5-15 minutes. That's because over the ear headphones allow sound to escape or be absorbed in the insulation, where earbuds direct the noise straight into the ear drum.

Sauer said the type of hearing loss associated with that kind of exposure is also harder to fit for hearing aids.

In cases like these, people will lose sensitivity to high pitched frequencies, which in English are consonants. So what happens is that you might here the "un" in a word but not know if someone said fun or sun.

To play it safe, Sauer recommends, "If someone has to shout to you in a noisy background, it's too loud and you should protect your ears."

Volume Setting and dBA Readings:
(Source: ASHA Study)

Player	Full Volume	3/4 Volume	1/2 Volume	1/4 Volume	Low
Apple iPod (15 GB)	120-125	107-111	98-101	80-83	68-72
Creative Zen Nano Plus	114-118	105-109	85-92	77-82	67-75
Sony Walkman MP3/ATRAC3plus	108-115	105-109	85-92	77-82	67-75
iRiver T10	115-122	105-112	98-106	88-92	70-79
Dell Latittude D610 Laptop	112-114	108-114	102-108	85-96	74-77
Dell Axim X5 Handheld	115-120	107-112	104-106	85-92	77-82
Bratz-Liptunes MP3 Player	115-120	112-115	90-94	69-72	45-50
Disney Mix Stick	112-118	100-105	87-99	70-76	60-66
Motorola Motostart H700 Bluetooth	82-106	NA	68-73	NA	52-60