iPod to Turn Down The Music

Following a class-action lawsuit filed in California in January, Macintosh has agreed to add a maximum volume control to the iPod nano and the fifth-generation iPod.

The lawsuit claimed that iPods could cause hearing damage because they could produce sounds louder than 104 decibels and up to 115 decibels. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Othe Communicative Disorders, noise-induced hearing loss is common with sounds of 120 to 140 decibels, including firecrackers, motorcycles and firearms.

The new software will allow people to set their own maximum volume on their iPod, and it will let parents use a combination code to set the volume control for their children’s iPods. The software is available for download here.