(Rockville, MD - June 28, 2006) With many Americans planning celebrations involving fireworks this Independence Day, audiologists are reminding people to take steps to protect their hearing.
"The loud sounds from these explosives occur so quickly, people don't appreciate the intensity involved," according to Vic Gladstone, Director of Audiology at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), "and because they don't, they put themselves at increased risk by being too close to the sounds of fireworks." Gladstone adds: "Due to the closeness of the explosions, one is more likely to sustain a noise induced hearing loss at a backyard fireworks celebration rather than when the celebration is part of a public event."
Gladstone is not alone in his concern. Writing in ScienCentral, Robert Novak, Professor of Audiology, Purdue University says, "It's quite possible for a person on the Fourth of July to experience a dose of noise that's significant enough to cause hearing loss and ringing in the ears, due to an explosion very close to their ears."
Exposure to harmful sounds can result in missing or damaged inner ear hair cells that don't properly transmit the acoustic information to the auditory nerve. These structures can be injured by noise two different ways: from an intense brief impulse, such as a firecracker, or, from continuous exposure to loud noise, such as a concert. Both forms can be prevented by the regular use of hearing protection. To view how sound affects the inner ear, visit the ASHA Web site.
Audiologists are urging people to use protection such as ear plugs or special ear muffs over the July Fourth holiday. "They need to fit snuggly to block the sound pathway in the ear," Gladstone explains. "Properly fitted earplugs and ear muffs will still allow a person to hear speech and other important sounds, although at a quieter and safer level."
Ten million Americans suffer from irreversible hearing damage from noise, and 30 million are exposed to dangerous levels of noise daily, prompting ASHA to emphasize that this type of hearing loss is completely preventable.
Hearing damage can have wide ranging ramifications, especially among children. Recently, as part of an expert panel convened by ASHA, Anne Marie Tharpe, Associate Professor, Vanderbilt University, explained that even a minimal hearing loss in a child can have a devastating impact on their social and academic development. To learn more, visit Dr. Tharpe's press conference statement.
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 120,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders For more information on noise and hearing loss or other communication disorders, visit ASHA's Web site or call 1-800-638-8255 (TALK).
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