Is the use of ipods harm to health (ears) ?

I have heard that using earphones in general will cause bacterial growth in ears. And i am sure ipod's earphone is no exception.

No, no it is not harmful at all. But beware, excess of everthing is bad. So everything should be in limits. Moreover keep the level of sound low when you use ear phones of ipod. Higher sound in this case will certainly prove harmful.

These new ipod models have those peculiar earbuds which are placed directly into the ear, they can boost the
sound signal by as much as six to nine decibels. That’s the difference
in intensity between the sound made by a vacuum cleaner and the sound
of a motorcycle engine!

In addition to the more intense sound signal, today’s music listening
devices -- with their longer battery life and their capacity to hold
and conveniently play lots of music -- also encourage users to listen
for longer periods of time

This will surely assist in damaging the ear!

One scientist had done some study on this and he found that often students were listening at 110 to 120 decibels.That’s a sound level that’s equivalent to the measures that are
made at rock concerts. And it’s enough to
cause hearing loss after only about an hour and 15 minutes.... According to him!

The solution, according to him, is the 60 percent/60 minute
rule. He and other hearing specialists recommend using the MP3 devices,
including iPods, for no more than about an hour a day and at levels
below 60 percent of maximum volume.

Because the noise is much closer to the ear, the hair cells of the
inner ear have a greater chance of becoming injured. Damaged hair
cells, which turn sound into electrochemical signals to the brain,
cannot be regrown or restored with surgical treatment.

So guys and gals turn down your volume!

Not only use of I-Pod, but if you are using ear-phones for long time, it may cause harm to your ears. Try to limit the use of ear-phones and try not to listen on fast volume.