Experts say the huge popularity of iPods and other players could leave a generation of music fans with serious problems. A leading expert warned that people had to use the players more responsibly. Andrew Reid, head of audiology at the Royal United Hospital in Bristol, said: "This is a big problem for young people, and there is a real risk that prolonged listening could lead to permanent hearing damage."

Mr Reid added: "If you are on a Tube, you have to turn the player up to dangerous levels just to hear it. Over time, this is going to lead to problems like tinnitus and severe damage to the inner ear." Tinnitus and noise-induced hearing loss occurs when the delicate hair nerve cells that line the inner ear suffer repeated trauma from loud sound vibrations.

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