Today, there is a new danger and few people probably realise that they are unintentionally damaging their hearing just by listening to an mp3 player or ipod through earphones at high volume for just an hour every day. A recent study by scientists looking at emerging health risks in Europe concluded that using earphones and playing loud music every day for five years could cause permanent and irreversible hearing problems. Five years seems like a long time, but listening to music through ear phones for longer each day would have the same effect in a much shorter time.