‘…or meaningful ways to safeguard hearing without becoming a nanny state.’
I know that protecting hearing is a major hot-button issue with several BBQers, and I think it is an important issue that we should talk about.
I have not recently been involved in any updates to the EU hearing protection rules, but when I last read the proposed changes I nearly fainted. What I read:
-Dupe users into thinking they’re deaf or suffering from tinnitus when they’ve listened to too much loud music.
-Plaster ugly UI elements all over otherwise beautiful OSes.
-Hosts/players must psychically intuit rendering devices in order to know their output parameters.
-Track users across devices to monitor exposure.
If you are involved with the EU rulemaking and these do not reflect the current state of affairs (and assuming that you are permitted to do so), please correct my understanding. Note that I have taken some liberty in describing my observations.
What is the best way to protect hearing? What roll (or controls) should content creators/parents/governments/police have in protecting their fans/children/citizens/sheep? What can we do as technologists to help?