Oh, say, can you hear?

According to an article in the Sunday New York Times - which can still be viewed online in the Technology section - the MP3 generation may be heading for a life of impaired hearing in later years. As noted in the article, an "iPod can produce sounds as loud as 115 decibels, when 89 decibels is considered the maximum for safe listening. Apple warns its customers about the danger of hearing loss in its iPod manual."