[From the index of photos to the chapter Get some earphones]

The World Health Organization’s Make Listening Safe initiative works on two fronts: the places where music is amplified, and the devices we hold in our own hands. Three documents set out what it asks of each.

1. WHO Global standard for safe listening venues & events
Addressed to venues, festivals and event organizers, and to the governments that regulate them. It sets out what a venue must do — sound limits, monitoring, hearing protection, quiet zones — so that audiences can enjoy amplified music without losing their hearing to it.

Global standard for safe listening venues & events (PDF)

2. WHO-ITU global standard for safe listening devices and systems
Developed jointly with the International Telecommunication Union over two years, in consultation with governments, industry, civil society and users. It covers smartphones, MP3 players and the earphones and headphones that go with them, and specifies the features manufacturers should build in to reduce the risk of hearing loss.

WHO-ITU global standard for safe listening devices and systems (PDF)

3. Toolkit for safe listening devices and systems
Practical guidance for putting standard 2 into effect — for governments legislating, manufacturers adopting it voluntarily, and professional associations advocating for it.

Toolkit for safe listening devices and systems (PDF)

Document 1 © World Health Organization; documents 2 and 3 © World Health Organization and International Telecommunication Union. Reproduced in full and unaltered, with attribution, under the terms at https://www.who.int/about/policies/publishing/copyright. Accessed on 17 August 2026.