As seemingly everyone on the planet, including many children and teens not exactly known for taking the long view on health issues, now owns an iPod, Apple is taking steps to make it harder for the players to ruin a user's hearing. A recently filed patent indicates that the next iPods and iPhones will be able to automatically sense how long a person has been listening and at what volume before gradually reducing the sound level. The devices will also keep track of the amount of time between when the iPod is turned off and when it is restarted, allowing the volume to be increased again to full power. While this new Technology is great, we wonder why these players and phones need to be so powerful in the first place. An iPod can easily put out 100 decibels (compared with 120 for some other players), which is akin to standing ten feet from a jackhammer. At the risk of sounding stodgy, it seems that dialing back the power of the players would be a better alternative than limiting the amount of time users can use the device to seriously damage their hearing. [Daily Mail via: The Daily Swarm]