Who leader Pete Townshend warns MP3 fans of danger in earphones

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Rock legend Pete Townshend, getting ready to go back on the road with The Who later this year, is warning MP3 enthusiasts that listening to rock music through earphones could make them deaf.

"I have unwittingly helped to invent and refine a type of music that makes its principal components deaf," the 60-year-old guitarist said in a diary entry on his website (www.petetownshend.co.uk).

"Hearing loss is a terrible thing because it cannot be repaired. If you use an iPod or anything like it, or your child uses one, you MAY be okay ... But my intuition tells me there is terrible trouble ahead."

The Who, which helped write the history of British rock 'n' roll with such classics as "My Generation" and "Pinball Wizard", are remembered for their...