source: bhNEWS
NIDCD Launches Campaign to Protect the Hearing of Tweens
For Immediate Release
Thursday, October 2, 2008
10:00 a.m. EDT
Contact:
Patricia Blessing
blessinp@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jennifer Wenger
jwenger@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
NIDCD Launches Campaign to Protect the Hearing of Tweens
New Web Site Offers Parents Resources to Help Tweens Avoid
Hearing
Loss from Noise
A new campaign to help parents of 8- to 12-year-olds teach their
children how to avoid hearing loss from overexposure to loud noise was
launched today by the National Institute on Deafness and Other
Communication
Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health. The new
campaign, called It's a Noisy Planet. Protect Their Hearing., features
a new
Web site that offers advice to parents on the causes and prevention of
noise-induced hearing loss, how to recognize when a child's hearing is
at
risk, and ways to reduce noise exposure. The site contains games,
posters,
and interactive information about noise and hearing loss tailored
specifically for tweens.
"Noise is everywhere, and children and adults alike are at risk
for
hearing loss from overexposure," said James F. Battey, Jr., M.D.,
Ph.D.,
director of the NIDCD. "Our goal through this campaign is to increase
awareness among parents and children so that it will become second
nature to
use protective hearing techniques when they're exposed to loud noise,
just
like it's become second nature for many people to wear sunscreen when
they'
re at the beach or to snap on a helmet when they go biking."
Children often are exposed to noises that can reach harmful
levels and
durations. Doing yard work, such as using a power mower, playing a
musical
instrument, whether it's a violin or electric guitar, or attending a
s****ts
event in a large stadium can be the source of too much noise.
Noise-induced hearing loss occurs when too much noise damages
small
sensory cells in the inner ear, called hair cells. Once damaged, these
hair
cells cannot be repaired. Hair cells can be injured instantly by an
intense
blast of noise, such as the bang of a firecracker, or gradually from
repeated exposure to excessive noise. Overexposure to noise also may
cause
tinnitus, a ringing, roaring, or clicking sound in the ear. Research
also
suggests that genetics may play a role in increasing a person's
vulnerability to noise-induced hearing loss.
The campaign targets tweens because they are at an age when they
are
no longer little children, and they are beginning to develop a sense
of who
they are and what they like to do. Reaching them at this age, while
they're
forming attitudes and habits related to their health, will help them
understand that healthy hearing habits will benefit them for a
lifetime.
The Noisy Planet campaign advocates three ways to prevent NIHL:
a.. Block the noise by wearing earplugs or protective
earmuffs, like
those used by air****t or lawn service workers.
b.. Avoid the noise by walking away or limiting time spent in
noisy
environments.
c.. Turn down the sound on the growing number of tools, toys,
and
gadgets that add to the increasing noise level of daily life.
Information on NIDCD's Noisy Planet campaign is available at
www.noisyplanet.nidcd.nih.gov.
NIDCD, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2008, sup****ts
and
conducts research and research training on the normal and disordered
processes of hearing, balance, smell, taste, voice, speech and
language and
provides health information, based upon scientific discovery, to the
public.
For more information about NIDCD programs, see the Web site at
www.nidcd.nih.gov.
The National Institutes of Health=97The Nation's Medical Research
Agency =97 includes 27 institutes and centers and is a component of the
U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal
agency
for conducting and sup****ting basic, clinical and translational
medical
research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for
both
common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its
programs,
visit www.nih.gov.
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