VANCOUVER -- The death of a pedestrian in Cranbrook, B.C., on Tuesday has raised the question of how loud is too loud when it comes to listening to iPods and other personal music players.
Isaiah Otieno, a 23-year-old student, was killed when he was struck and dragged by a helicopter that crashed to the ground as he was walking to the mailbox.
Eyewitnesses reported that Mr. Otieno seemed completely unaware that he was in danger and a friend told reporters that he often listened to music through earbuds (in-ear headphones) with the hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head.
Concern over safe use of headphones is growing. Last year, Carl Kruger, a Democratic state senator from New York proposed a bill to ban the use of iPods and other electronic devices while crossing the street.
Though Mr. Kruger's bill was defeated, his position was echoed last fall by the charity Deafness Research UK, which launched a similar campaign to persuade young people to switch off their personal MP3 players while crossing the road.
But Lorienne Jenstad, assistant professor in the school of audiology and speech sciences at the University of British Columbia says that it's too early to draw any conclusions about the degree of risk.
"There are a lot of beliefs and assumptions right now on how dangerous this headphone use is, but currently no data to back them up," Prof. Jenstad said.
"In our own informal tests, we've found that the range of volume used is very wide - from moderate to levels that are potentially able to cut out all background noise," she said.
And if you've got the volume cranked too high, you may be able to tell by the ringing in your ears, said Geordon Hoag, digital music product consultant at Tom Lee Music in Vancouver. "The average downtown street registers at around 60 decibels. A jet plane flying overhead is generally quoted at 120 to 130 decibels. If you are playing your music loud enough to cut out that level of noise, then you have it cranked to a degree that is damaging your hearing."
It may also depend on the type of headphones you are wearing, he added. Though the perception is that in-ear headphones are more isolating than over-the-head headphones, the reverse is actually the case. "The seal that surrounds the ears on a good set of traditional phones shuts out more external noise," Mr. Hoag said.
Still, research on headphone use has focused on hearing loss, for a reason: Other safety issues are "pretty obvious," said Linda Polka, associate professor in the school of communication science and disorders at McGill University. "I see people riding bikes while listening to iPods, and it's horrific. You shouldn't need to educate people about that."
Map highlighting location of Cranbrook. 
A 23-year-old Kenyan man was crushed and killed and three others died after a helicopter crashed in Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada on May 13. All on board the helicopter, two passengers and the pilot of the helicopter, were also killed. 

Considered a freak accident, the attention was not centered around the crash or those killed in it, but whether or not the volume on the iPod the 23-year-old pedestrian was allegedly listening to was too loud.

Isaiah Otieno, a student at the College of the Rockies arrived in Canada two years ago and was the son of Dalmas Otieno, Kenya's Minister of State for Public Service. He was walking down the street to retrieve his mail when the Bell 206 helicopter crashed on top of him, crushed him, then dragged his body along the pavement, with the helicopter bursting into flames. The helicopter pilot was unable to maintain altitude when it crashed, killing Otieno and those inside the helicopter, instantly. The cause of the crash is not known and is still being investigated, but media outlets such as ''The Globe and Mail'' criticized the boy for wearing headphones and having the volume turned up too high, which allegedly caused him not to hear the aircraft falling from the sky.

"He was a brilliant student, very considerate, very aggressive at times. He had strong leadership qualities. Everybody here is just shattered," stated Dalmas.
A Canadian Bell 206 helicopter, similar to the one that crashed. 
Despite the reports that Otieno was listening to his iPod, there has been no independent confirmation of those reports. ''Wikinews'' e-mailed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to confirm or deny the iPod reports, but has not yet received a response. 

Other deaths have been blamed on media players like the iPod. In 2007, a boy was killed after a train struck him in Grimsby, Ontario. The boy, who had headphones on at the time, was unable to hear the sounds of the train's horn as it approached, which subsequently struck and killed him.

The helicopter was owned by Bighorn Helicopters and was rented to BC Hydro, the Province's power and water authority. The Pilot has been identified as Edward William Kyle Heeb, 57. The other two individuals killed were employees for BC Hydro and have been identified as Dirk Bentley Rozenboom, 45 and Robert William Lehmann, 37. They were checking power lines along 14th street in Cranbrook, when according to witnesses, the engine stopped and the helicopter crashed in the intersection of 14th and 10th.

Despite the reports, a Canadian music consultant states that the accident involving the helicopter cannot be blamed on the use of Otieno's iPod.

"The average downtown street registers at around 60 decibels. A jet plane flying overhead is generally quoted at 120 to 130 decibels. If you are playing your music loud enough to cut out that level of noise, then you have it cranked to a degree that is damaging your hearing," said Geordon Hoag.