Whether you suffer hearing loss from headphones depends on three things: how loud you listen to music, how long you listen, and what type of headphones you listen with.
Most MP3 players (such as the iPod) come with the earbud style headphones which are placed in the ear, will cause hearing loss faster than supra-aural headphones which rest on the outer ear.
Study: Hearing damage occurs after more than 5 minutes of full-volume listening on iPod earbuds.
The worst choice appears to be the headphones that isolate outside noise by fitting into the ear canal.
Played at no more than 50% of the maximum volume, none of the headphones appear to cause permanent hearing loss. You can even enjoy constant listening at those moderate levels.
Higher volumes bring the risk of damage, and then listening times also become a factor. If you are going to push the volume up, then you should limit how long you listen.
Recommendations: Find a good set of supra-aural headphones. I’m a fan of the Sennheiser PX 100
Previously: Famous Rocker Pleads With You to Turn It Down.
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And this would be why I mow the lawn with my iPod and my 24db reduction earmuffs. The first day I tried this, I discovered that ~40% total volume was all that was necessary to hear the music nicely.
Without the ear muffs, I can sometimes NOT hear the ipod over the mower while using the stock iPod earphones.
I cringe to think of the damage I did in the last couple of years.