hearing loss from compressed music

Interesting, even though I am not qualified to prove the concept one way or the other.

I understand the point about data compression and losses. Certainly I hate the effect that process has on music quality. Consider too, until VERY recently, every sound perceived by human beings since the beginning of time was analog.

If this guy is right, it would not be the first time we altered our environment in a way that damaged our health and well being.

I would speculate that hearing loss is caused by decible levels alone. The theory of digital compressed music hearing loss is possibly based on the increasing use of portable CD and MP3 players being used with headphones at high listening levels(IMHO).

"even though I am not qualified to prove the concept one way or the other"
Albert, neither seems the author of that article. All he does is formulating a hypothesis, although he doesn't explicitly say so. As with any hypothesis this is subject to verification or falsification. And although it is an interesting concept, I doubt, anybody will do research on it anytime soon.

Yes, his learning about the subject derives from some very elementary sources and he extracts tantalizing tidbits from the interpretations, not the results, of some cutting-edge studies.

I am not overly alarmed by the article and agree there will probably not be research devoted to it. In fact, I will allow my son to listen to his MP3 files, even though I am very protective of him.

I am however, a believer in the idea that "nothing is free." We often set traps with our technology, and discover them only after we've damaged ourselves.