Researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston have concluded that nearly one in five American adolescents suffers from the same degree of hearing loss comparable to the age-related loss normally found in adults in their ’50s and ’60s. And people immediately are pointing the finger of blame at all the usual suspects: rock concerts, cell phones, and the ubiquitous Apple iPod and other portable music players. That’s all well and good, but it begs the question of all the other environmental noise people are subjected to from birth. The sad fact is we’re living in a much noisier world than 20 or 30 years ago, and no matter how many times we tell people to turn down the iPod, there is no substitute for a far more organized response to the epidemic of environmental noise-related hearing loss than we have seen to date.
In findings published in this month’s Journal of the American Medical Association, the researchers analyzed data from two major surveys done by the National Institutes of Health, one done in 2005-2006 and the other done from 1988 through 1994. They found the rate of significant hearing loss — such as inability to hear soft sounds such as whispers or high-frequency sounds such as high musical notes or high-pitched voices — had increased among adolescents aged 12-19 from 14.9 percent in the first survey to 19.5 percent in the second, a 30 percent increase.
The study’s authors were careful not to point to reasons for the hearing loss but emphasized the need for everyone to take more steps to protect their hearing, and to invest more energy in teaching adolescents about the dangers of hearing loss. “What makes hearing loss in adolescents even more concerning is previous research showing that teens underestimate the importance of hearing and the dangers of noise exposure, and don’t make protecting their hearing a priority,” said lead study author Josef Shargorodsky, a physician-investigator at the Channing Laboratory at BWH.
Shargorodsky, a clinical fellow in otology and laryngology at Harvard Medical School told the Boston Globe that the study points to the need for more awareness among educators about the possibility that hearing loss is affecting a significant number of students’ ability to hear in the classroom: “There are probably a couple of kids in every classroom in America who will have some level of hearing loss, and it’s important for teachers to be aware of that and parents and physicians, as well.’’
The researchers’ primary conclusion was one that you usually get with every government funded study — that it should lead to more government funded studies. For sure, more research needs to be done on the specific causes of the epidemic of adolescent hearing loss. And the admonitions to turn down your iPod should continue. But there are dozens of things the public can do today to address the problem. Starting with:
- Investment in a public health campaign focused on hearing prevention. In Europe there have been far more public awareness campaigns on hearing loss prevention than in the U.S., where past investments by the Centers for Disease Control and other agencies to educate the public about preventive health concerns relating to cigarette smoking, AIDS, obesity and other issues have been very successful.
- More screening by general practitioners–including pediatricians–in annual physical exams. A scandalously low number of physicians even asks their patients about their hearing when in fact good hearing, and hearing assistance if needed, are critical to maintaining good mental and physical health.
- More efforts by the schools to help students hear their teachers. Screening of students for hearing loss in the first week of school, more sound field classroom systems and other assistive listening technologies, plus a new look at acoustics in the design of schools and classrooms, can all help students hear and learn much more effectively.
- More and better hearing protection devices. This is one problem where technology definitely can and should come to the rescue. There is a huge market opportunity for hearing aid companies and other entrepreneurs to develop better ear plugs, including dynamic hearing devices that filter out dangerously loud noises while enabling the user to hear normal sounds including speech.
- Focus on hearing protection in the workplace. Again, the European Union is ahead of the U.S. in raising awareness of the dangers of hearing loss in the workplace and, when necessary, doing something about it. The U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) needs to take a closer look at the societal cost of hearing loss in the workplace and begin to hold employers accountable for simple steps to protect their workers’ hearing.
Hearing loss is entirely preventable, but it will take more than gratuitous, knee-jerk bellyaching about people tuning out on their iPods to avoid what could become one of the larger public health crises we will face in coming years.
anubhav kapoor says
School and workplaces have to take more initiative in this regard since families are already burdened by an ever-increasing number of health problems. Taking initiative does not mean just giving the students and employees hearing-related check-ups but ensuring that the buildings are insulated against internal and external noise pollution.
David Lubman says
I question the recommendation that schools should use more soundfield systems.
The kneejerk reaction to amplify mainstream classrooms is counterproductive. It at best a band aid and fails to address the core problem, which is usually excessive background noise. School administrators should properly diagnose the disease lest they administer the wrong medicine.
The median unoccupied background noise level in American classroom is around 46 dBA. That is 11 dB higher (and over twice as “loud”) as the authoritative ANSI recommended maximum of 35 dBA.
Blindly installing soundfield systems in noisy classrooms simply elevates teachers voice level over excessive background noise. That is counterproductive because it makes classrooms even noisier. And while it may help students understand teachers better it cannot help students hear each other or be heard. A far better solution is to lower background noise to ANSI recommended 35 dBA or less.
Quieter classrooms are better than amplified classrooms for all teachers and students. But students with hearing, language, and learning disabilities benefit most of all. For example, the social development of students with hearing disabilities should be far better in quiet classrooms where they may hear other students than in amplified noisy classrooms where they cannot hear other students and thus are socially isolated from them.
The claims of improved educational outcomes in soundfield equipped classrooms are gravely flawed because they don’t compare the outcome by simply providing good acoustics – low noise levels and low reverberation time.
Ideally, green schools should be designed to ANSI standards as the National Research Council recommends. What of existing schools designed in less enlightened times? Despite the conventional wisdom, recent field experience shows that noisy classrooms in existing schools can often be quieted cost-effectively.
I am not opposed to the use of soundfield systems in ANSI-qualified classrooms. I am opposed to using soundfield systems as substitutes for low noise and good acoustics.