Major headphone and earphone brands fail quality tests

Panasonic and Philips headphones pose potential hearing impairment risks, the Shanghai Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau said today.

The bureau tested 28 batches of headphones and earphones based on European standards because China has no such standards at this time. It found 14 batches failed to meet the 75mV standard on either the left or right side.

The tests were based on Europe's EN50332 standard that determines the maximum sound pressure level of headphones and earphones.

The bureau said exposure to high sound pressure can lead to hearing loss.

Some Chinese brands like Edifier and Bingle also failed quality tests.

The bureau said it has ordered these companies to enhance quality safety controls, improve the design of products and add warnings like "long time exposure to this earphone or headphone will harm hearing" on product packaging.