Photo credit: Mikhail Nilov from Pexels by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition In “Loud Noise: The Not-So-Silent Killer Is Back,” Kimberly Rae Miller, writing in the July/August AARP Bulletin, notes that the end of the pandemic will very likely bring us back to a noisier world. This
Photo credit: Aberdeen Proving Ground licensed under CC BY 2.0 by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition This article in The Hearing Journal describes a study published in Noise & Health about sound levels in group spin classes in Baltimore, Maryland. The average noise levels were measured in both A-weighted and C-weighted decibels (dBA
Photo credit: Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition Headphones using the industrial-strength 85 decibel (dB) sound level as a volume limit are not safe for hearing. They may be safer than headphones without a volume limit, that can put out 100-125 dB sound, but they are by no means
Photo credit: SoulRider.222 licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist When it comes to people getting hearing aids or not, a recent viewpoint article in JAMA Otolaryngology identifies that cost is not the only barrier. While lower prices or low cost options mean more people can afford hearing aids, it doesn’t mean
Image credit: Gerd Altmann from Pixabay by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition This NPR report on tinnitus contains lots of good information and I recommend it highly. I served on the board of the American Tinnitus Association from 2015-2018, and I know the expertise of its staff and board members and their dedication
Photo credit: Diabetes Care licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 by Arline L. Bronzaft, Ph.D., Board of Directors, GrowNYC, and Co-founder, The Quiet Coalition Although fewer than 1% of Americans reach the age of 100, Jane Brody, the New York Times, writes that recent findings show that individuals who reach that age with their mental abilities functioning
Photo credit: Jonas Von Werne from Pexels by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist A recent article is a good reminder that fireworks can damage hearing. Fireworks are loud explosive blasts of sound that can cause permanent hearing loss, tinnitus or ringing in the ears, and hyperacusis or painful decreased sound tolerance. Even temporary distortion, muffling,
Photo credit: Kaique Rocha from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition This report from television station WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky correctly warns that noise from fireworks can cause permanent hearing loss. The report doesn’t explicitly state this, but I think they are talking about “do it yourself” fireworks, not fireworks displays in
Photo credit: Marcelo Chagas from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition Our friends at Hearing Health Foundation, the nation’s largest nonprofit funder of hearing research, have informed us about their new public advertising campaign to let commuters--especially young people--know that playing music too loud on personal listening devices, also called personal audio
Photo credit: Maurício Mascaro from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition The “speech in noise” or “hearing in noise” problem is one that has long bedeviled both middle-aged people and their audiologists and physicians. Many people in mid-to-late life complain that they can’t follow one conversation among many in a noisy environment,
