Shaping public opinion about noise: an audiology challenge

Details

• Personal Author:
  Byrne, David C. ; Themann, Christa L.
• Description:
  Campaigns to raise awareness about health issues can be very effective - just look at the attention ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease) received last summer as a result of the Ice Bucket Challenge! Though not life-threatening, noise-induced hearing loss is nonetheless a widespread public health problem with serious implications for quality of life. Hearing loss is associated with depression, anxiety, social withdrawal, and accelerated rates of mental decline. Noise is a biological stressor, and high levels of exposure may lead to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and changes in blood chemistry. Audiologists know that too much noise is a bad thing, but the public accepts excessive noise at sporting events and concerts. When football fans compete with each other to break stadium noise records (with levels exceeding 140 dB) and coaches exclaim, "The fans were phenomenal... my ears are still ringing," hearing health professionals should take action. Noise can add excitement and enjoyment to recreational activities, but we need to do our part to help people understand how they can experience noise safely by using hearing protection and limiting exposure times. Promoting safe hearing practices in the general community will be especially appreciated by occupational hearing conservationists, who often find their efforts to reduce noise in the workplace undermined by the social acceptability of noise in public. Audiologists can advocate for hearing health by identifying community events that may involve potentially harmful behaviors, participating in these activities, and proposing strategies to minimize any inherent risks. Blogs and social media sites (for example, https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/category/hearing-loss/) offer an opportunity to share our expertise. Many organizations have ready-made materials to help build consumer awareness. Examples include ASHA's Listen To Your Buds campaign and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders' Wise Ears! campaign. Hearing conservation isn't the only public health issue for which audiologists can advocate. Balance disorders are another serious public health problem, complicated by the misperception that falls are an inevitable consequence of aging. ASHA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are among many organizations that offer prevention tips and guidelines to help raise awareness about and address the issue of falls among older adults. The Surgeon General's National Prevention Strategy (www.surgeongeneral.gov/initiatives/prevention/strategy/injury-and-violence-free-living.html) also contains recommendations to promote and strengthen policies and programs to prevent falls. Audiologists can easily conduct falls-risk assessments at senior community centers or church events, tailoring information for specific audiences. In some cases, you may be able to obtain funding from local businesses or charities to support consumer outreach efforts. Regardless, you will be contributing to the public health of your community by making individuals and groups safer. Be sure to share your ideas and experiences with other audiologists through blogs and online communities, such as the ASHA Community, to help inspire other audiologists to advocate for hearing health. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accident Prevention Accidents Accidents, Occupational Education Hearing Loss, Noise-Induced Noise Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-prevention Health-communication Injuries Injury-prevention Noise-induced-hearing-loss Public-health
• Publisher:
  American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DART - Division of Applied Research and Technology
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046328
• Citation:
  ASHA Audiol Connect 2015 Mar; :12
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2015
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Manufacturing
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  ASHA Audiology Connections
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:cb1669cb6c8982166864c57d88523ad5f567e841b9e2fdd2ad39c759e95e8f15cd5e686b02ce8adbe005437a3748daacfb99430eb4332f226ac8ddb32f11e2d2
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201425/cdc_201425_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 2.82 MB ]