A swathe of recent reports from around the world has reignited the argument surrounding MP3 players and the potential damage they can inflict on your hearing.

Around 50 million Americans currently deal with ‘inescapable sounds', otherwise known as Tinnitus, a condition that has become more common in line with the increasing abundance of portable audio.

The Royal National Institute for Deaf People recently ran a survey in Edinburgh to find out how many users are listening to their music too loudly. In addition, hearing loss groups are urging manufacturers to put new health warnings on players and place limits on maximum volumes.

In fact, many modern players do offer volume limiters or reducers that can restrict things to a healthy level, but they're often easy to disable and are often disabled by default. Most MP3 players are capable of reaching sound levels over 100 decibels, which is far louder than the 85 decibels that can reportedly damage hearing over time.