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June 2003
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New Partners
Welcome NASA John H. Glenn Research Center
NASA Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field is engaged in noise reduction work in support of NASA’s space flight programs, with a particular focus on creating a low-noise work environment onboard the International Space Station. Science experiments and other equipment must meet stringent noise emission limits that prevent noise-induced hearing loss while allowing clear speech communication among the astronaut crew. At the Glenn Research Center, experiment payloads undergo an aggressive low-noise design process that includes frequent acoustical testing in the center’s Acoustical Testing Laboratory (ATL), a state-of-the art anechoic chamber that provides ideal conditions for accurately measuring even the lowest noise levels. The ATL offers payload developers the opportunity to integrate noise considerations into the design of their hardware early in the planning stages of each project so that the on-orbit noise emissions are minimized with minimum constraints on the operation of the experiment. The ATL’s capabilities are comparable to those of well-known acoustical testing laboratories in the commercial sector and include accreditation by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program for sound power determinations per ISO 3744. For more information about the ATL and Glenn’s support for low-noise payload design of ISS payloads, contact Beth Cooper, Manager of Acoustical Testing Services.
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Johnson Space Center (JSC), NASA
NASA JSC serves as the lead NASA center for the International Space Station--a U.S.-led collaborative effort of 16 nations, and the largest, most powerful, complex human facility to ever operate in space. Orbiting 240 miles above the Earth, this working laboratory will serve as a stepping-stone to other planets--teaching us the essentials of long-term living in space.
And More Good News
Council for Accreditation in Occupational Hearing Conservation (CAOHC)
The mission of CAOHC is to promote the conservation of hearing by enhancing the quality of occupational hearing conservation programs. The Council’s main objective is to provide education, information, and guidance to industry and those serving industry regarding the successful implementation of an occupational hearing conservation program. It seeks to prevent unnecessary hearing loss.
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News From You
Acoustical Society of America
The Acoustical Society of America has recently published two 16-page booklets on the problems that classrooms with high noise levels and reverberation times pose to teaching and learning. Classroom Acoustics I: "A resource for creating learning environments with desirable listening conditions" provides a general overview of the problems and solutions for noisy and reverberant classrooms. Classroom Acoustics II: "Acoustical barriers to learning" reviews the need for good acoustical qualities for classrooms. It includes information on the problems experienced by students and teachers as a result of excessive noise. Young children in general, children learning English as a second language, and children with ear infections or permanent hearing loss require better classroom acoustical learning environments. Over 150 references are included. Also, the new American National Standard Acoustical Performance Criteria, Design Requirements, and Guidelines for Schools (ANSI S12.60-2002) has recently been approved. Information on how to purchase Classroom Acoustics I and II and the new ANSI standard on classroom acoustics may be found on the Acoustical Society of America’s Web site or send an e-mail to asa@aip.org.
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House Ear Institute
The Sound Partners program of the House Ear Institute continues to provide audio and music professionals with literature, online information, public service messages, and earplugs to promote hearing conservation practices and information about noise-induced hearing loss.
Sound Partners kicked off the year with thousands of music industry professionals visiting its hearing conservation exhibit at the annual Winter NAMM Convention, a four-day event held in January. Through a generous sponsorship by Shure Incorporated, Sound Partners provided free hearing screenings and audiology consultations to more than 420 people whose careers depend on their ability to hear. The NAMM show management distributed earplugs to more than 4,000 attendees at the show’s main registration counters.
In May, Sound Partners distributed 1,500 earplugs in reusable cases and hearing conservation flyers to attendees of the annual "Modern Drummer Festival," and hundreds of the same materials for the Sixth Annual Recording Academy Golf Tournament. On June 9, Sound Partners will spread the word about hearing conservation to participants of the MIX Foundation’s 2003 MIX L.A. Open Golf Tournament, a tournament that supports the program. At this tournament, Sound Partners will launch their new and improved Sound Partners Hearing Conservation Tips brochure that is currently in production.
Sound Partners is also breathing new life into their trade publication ad campaign through a fresh new series of hearing conservation advertisements that tie hearing conservation messages with imagery that communicates more effectively to today’s industry professionals. Messages revolve around the themes "What Would You Do Without Your Hearing?" and "Monitor Your Decibels for a Lifetime of Sound."
Sound Partners is underway with their long-term plans to broaden their hearing conservation campaign to reach beyond the audio professions to more of the listening public. To accomplish this goal, Sound Partners will be looking to the audio and entertainment industries to serve as their public advocates for hearing conservation and to provide the support needed to underwrite the production of a public ad campaign.
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Deafness Research Foundation launched their first electronic newsletter of the Deafness Research Foundation Research Grants Center. The e-newsletter provides information about DRF’s research program.
The newsletter is dedicated and sent to researchers interested in hearing research. It will be produced every month.
To subscribe to the e-newsletter, contact DRF on their Web site at
www.drf.org.
This past November DRF purchased Hearing Health, a print and online publication. Hearing Health will bring readers the same useful consumer oriented information that the magazine has always, but now with more of a focus on DRF’s own mission to increase awareness of real-world applications of hearing research, technology, and trends and to educate people about the effects of hearing loss on health and quality of life. For more information or to subscribe, visit http://www.drf.org/magazine/.
Advanced Clinical Research Conference is rescheduled for August 2, 2003, at the Bolger Center, Potomac, Md. The conference is presented by the Deafness Research Foundation and is jointly sponsored by the American Neurotology Society and the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and supported by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders grant.
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American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
America’s Hearing Healthcare Team (AHHT) launched www.hearingteam.org “(no longer active) to increase public awareness of symptoms, identification, treatment, and prevention of hearing loss.
The site provides consumer information on hearing loss, hearing disorders, and treatment options from hearing healthcare experts. It includes an interactive five-minute hearing test for seniors, interactive check list on infant hearing, a description of how the ear works, explanations of types of hearing loss, and a guide on how to select a hearing aid.
The site also offers a geographic listing of hearing healthcare providers as well as links to other hearing health sites.
America’s Hearing Healthcare Team was founded in May 2001 by the American Academy of Otolaryngolgy-Head and Neck Surgery and the International Hearing Society. It is endorsed by the American College of Surgeons, American Neurotology Society, American Otological Society, Cochlear Implant Association, and the Deafness Research Foundation.
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St. Vrain Valley School District
Every year on school screening day, 3rd graders in the St. Vrain Valley School District in Colorado receive a packet of hearing conservation materials. The packet contains a letter to the parents talking about the program and encouraging them to talk with their children about hearing conservation. Time and materials for these packets were donated by EAR, NASA, NHCA, NIDCD, local Sertoma Club, and AARP volunteers. This is the third year of the program.
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The Sight & Hearing Association, a nonprofit organization based in St. Paul, Minn., launched a full-scale media campaign and coordinated free hearing screenings statewide for International Noise Awareness Day, which was held April 30. This is the eighth year the organization has implemented the event in Minnesota. Audiologists at 25 sites around the state report this was the best year yet regarding the number of people who participated in the screenings. The Sight & Hearing Association, founded in 1939, works to prevent vision and hearing loss through screening, education, and research.
National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA)
produced a new brochure that targets teachers and parents about the risk of noise-induced hearing loss in children. The electronic version of the brochure file is available on the NHCA Web site at www.hearingconservation.org. The brochure can also be ordered in a pre-printed quantity direct from NHCA at (303) 224-9022 or e-mail at nhca@gwami.com. This brochure is used during routine hearing screenings at some Colorado schools as well.
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American Academy of Audiology
Don't miss The Academy’s next virtual seminar--CHANGE YOUR LUCK: A Fearless Approach to Getting and Keeping Patients. Learn how to market your audiology practice and improve patient relations from marketing pros Helena Solodar and Gyl Kasewurm on Friday, June 13 at 11 am. For more information, visit the Academy’s Web site at http://www.audiology.org/.
The Academy is accepting submissions for Convention 2004 online from June 27 to July 25. For more information on how to create a "rockin'" good submission for Convention 2004.
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The Holley Ear Institute is a nonprofit organization that provides life-enhancing programs for the deaf and hearing-challenged. Founded in 1993, the Institute is a consortium of volunteers: doctors, speech pathologists, audiologists, and other volunteer professionals that share a close relationship with St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, Michigan, and with the audiologists in its community.
The mission of the Holley Ear Institute is to assist the deaf and hearing challenged and provide services and programs aimed at improving their quality of life.
Events to benefit the Holley Ear Institute: Mark your calendar!
June 14--Celebrate America, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
August 1--Eleganza in Motion, Grosse Pointe, Michigan
August 1--La Bellissima Festa (dinner, dancing, live auction, fashion show) at Cauley Ferrari Maserati, W. Bloomfield, Michigan
August 2--Concorso d' Italia, an Italian Car Show at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House, Grosse Pointe Shores, Michigan
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NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field
NoiseCon 2003 invitation to participate--NoiseCon 2003, the national conference on noise control engineering, will be held from June 23-25 at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel, located in downtown’s Public Square. The conference is being organized by the Institute of Noise Control Engineering of the USA (INCE). The conference agenda offers a tour of the acoustics facilities at NASA’s Glenn Research Center as well as a gala evening social at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. For more information about the conference, visit www.inceusa.org.
Madigan Army Medical Center
Madigan Army participated in the annual Fort Lewis Retiree Appreciation Health Fair, May 16, 2003. WISE EARS!® materials were distributed at the event. Madigan Army also provided hearing testing with their mobile van, earplug fitting, and hearing aid and assistive listening device counseling.
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WISE EARS!® contributes to Johnson Space Center Spring Safety and Health Fair
NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, TX, held a Spring Safety and Health Fair on May 9, 2003, in which WISE EARS!® materials contributed to the success of the Hearing Conservation display for flight and ground personnel, contractors, and other attendees. Of approximately 2,000 attendees, about 600 individuals stopped at the booth, according to Dr. Dick Danielson, Manager for Audiology and Hearing Conservation, NASA-JSC. Visitors ranged from those who knew a great deal about noise (as engineers working with noise issues onboard the International Space Station) to individuals who remarked (when seeing posters of noise damaged cochleae), "I had no idea that noise could do that to my hearing!" WISE EARS!® materials on Shooter Safety were particularly well received by the Texan employees.
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WISE EARS!® Updates
On March 29, WISE EARS!® materials were distributed at the Montgomery County Women’s Fair held at Montgomery Blair High School, Silver Spring, Md.
Lessons in Shooter Safety article on the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss appeared in the 12th annual edition of Hunter’s Handbook--the official student guide to the hunting and shooting sports. More than 750,000 new hunters and shooters receive the handbook when they attend hunter education courses. There are more than 65,000 certified, volunteer instructors nationwide.
Ten million Americans have already suffered irreversible damage from noise, and 30 million more are exposed to dangerous noise levels each day.
An extreme noise, like the firing of a shotgun experienced at close range, can permanently damage your hearing in an instant. Noise-induced hearing loss can result from one-time exposure to a loud sound like gunfire, and it can also be caused by repeated exposure to harmful sounds over an extended period of time.
A Holiday Reminder
As you and your family celebrate July 4th this year, please remember to protect your hearing. Exploding firecrackers and other explosives at close range can injure your hearing instantly and permanently.
Remember to send us news on your WISE EARS!® activities for our next newsletter. For more information on the WISE EARS!® campaign, please visit www.nidcd.nih.gov.