by: Hearing Health Foundation

Hair cells in the inner ear convert sound information into electrical signals that enable the brain to “hear” the outside world. Hearing loss is permanent when the hair cells are damaged.

Click here to see a video on how hearing works.

by Michael Stewart, The ASHA Leader

Skeet and trap shooting. Target practice. Cowboy action shooting. Wild game hunting. These are popular leisure-time activities in America, where the citizenry owns more firearms than in any other country in the world. An estimated 70 million Americans own more than 270 million firearms, according to a 2007 issue of Small Arms Survey. And several states have hunting laws allowing children as young as age 10 to hunt when accompanied by an adult family member.

But even as firearms provide people with recreational opportunities, they also can cause significant noise-induced hearing loss with associated tinnitus unless shooters wear proper hearing protection. According to recent studies, relatively few of them do.

See entire article here.

By M. Alex Johnson, staff writer, NBC News

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg — who banned 16-ounce sodas, trans fats in restaurants and public smoking — has a new bug in his ear: young people who play their music too loud through their headphones.

The city’s spending a quarter-million dollars to launch a Hearing Loss Prevention Media Campaign warning young people through social media and focus groups about the risk of losing their hearing, The New York Post reported Wednesday.

View entire article here.

Workplace Integra located in Greensboro, NC providing services to support your hearing conservation & health data management needs has unveiled a new web site.  Check out our new website design with enhanced features for easier browsing.

On the new web site, you can find information on the following services:

•Mobile Audiometric Services
•Workplace Applications Software
•Hearing Test Analysis and Work-Relatedness Determination by Certified Audiologists •On-Site Hearing Conservation Consulting by Certified Audiologists •Noise Surveys •CAOHC-approved Occupational Hearing Conservationist training courses •NIOSH-approved Spirometry training •INTEGRAfit – Quantitative Earplug Fit-Testing •INTEGRAstat – Web-Based Corporate Reporting •Audiometric and Pulmonary Equipment

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), in partnership with the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA), is pleased to announce the winners of the 2013 Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss.  This year’s winners come from the manufacturing sector and the educational field.  Presented at the 38th Annual Hearing Conservation Conference on February 22, 2013 in St. Petersburg, Florida, the awards honor organizations that have shown dedication to excellence in hearing loss prevention, practices in the work environment and beyond.

2013 Safe-in-Sound Award Winners and Organization Representatives:

Awarded on February 22, 2013 in St. Petersburg, Florida at the National Hearing Conservation Association annual conference.

First Row Left to Right:  Linda Howarth (Dangerous Decibels); William “Billy” Martin (Dangerous Decibels; Andy Perkins (Vulcan Materials); Kelly Bailey (Vulcan Materials); Jeanne Virtue (Johns Manville); Barb Menard (Johns Manville).

Second Row Left to Right: Pam Graydon (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health); Deanna Meinke (Dangerous Decibels); Thais Morata (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health); Judy Sobel (Dangerous Decibels); Susan Griest (Dangerous Decibels); Rick Neitzel (Safe-in-Sound Committee); John Franks (Safe-in-Sound Committee); Laura Kauth (National Hearing Conservation Association);

Back Row Left to Right: Dr. John Howard (Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health); Ga-Lo Vann (Dangerous Decibels); James Lankford (Safe-in-Sound Committee).

 FULL PRESS RELEASE: http://www.workplaceintegra.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/2013-Press-Release_Safe-in-Sound.pdf