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Homework Help: Health: Diseases & Disorders: Hearing Loss
by Maile Wilcox
This experiment investigates the assumption that middle-school students are playing their music too loud, therefore increasing their risk of hearing problems later in life. By using a digital sound-level meter, the volume of iPods, radios, stereos, and car music systems will be measured in decibels. Measuring the listening levels of a group of 100 middle-school students will enable the experimenter to establish a documented sample, which could represent music-listening levels of the entire middle school population. This experiment will also show the small percentage of people who are aware that the high level they play their music is potentially harmful to their hearing.
The experimenter chose this experiment because of the recent studies showing the high volumes adolescents listen to on their personal stereos. Many people of all ages listen to music at volumes that is painful for others. The Royal National Institute for Deaf People in Britain did a test and concluded that 39% of 18- to 24-year-olds listen to their personal stereos for more than or equal to one hour a day, compared to 18% of 25- to 30- year-olds2. The experimenter believes 12- to 14-year-olds listen to personal stereos for an average of one hour per day or more. This age group especially turns the volume up because they want to block out the world around them, and so they can't hear people talking to them. This can be extremely harmful to their hearing.
This investigation is important because most adolescents do not realize the risk of consistent exposure to loud music and sounds. Turning down the volume only a little bit can make a huge difference in the risk. Young and older adults are losing their hearing, especially the generation born in the 50s and 60s, because they are the first generation raised on Rock & Roll. Hearing loss will increase because more and more adolescents are listening to rock music. The number of Americans ages three and up who have hearing loss has increased drastically in the past twenty two years. In 1971, 13.2 million reported having some form of hearing loss. In 1993, the number had almost doubled to 24.2 million.4 The hypothesis of this experiment is: The majority of middle school students listens to music at harmful levels without being aware that the levels are a threat to their hearing and could cause noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).
One of the common side-effects of listening to loud music is noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). As many as one million Americans have NIHL. There are many ways to get NIHL. Music is only one.4
In his article, "Noise causes hearing loss" published in 2002, Dr. Gilles Pinette includes music along with power tools, machinery, engines, and firearms as the most common causes of hearing loss. Dr. Pinette also includes musicians with construction, factory workers, woodcutters and farmers as professions with the highest risk of hearing loss.5 This information shows that there are high risks of music.
Jeannie H. Chung conducted an evaluation of noise-induced hearing loss in children. There have been very few evaluations of NIHL in children. Niskar et al estimated that 12.5% of children ages 6- to 19- year-old have noise-induced threshold change. In 1985, Lees et al reported that 40% of students ages 16 to 25 years old had audiometric evidence of NIHL. In 1996, Blair et al reported that 1% of all school-aged children have a certain degree of NIHL. In 1985, Axelsson and Jerson studied noisy toys and found that "squeaky toys" can produce sounds up to 108 dB. There have also been studies done in the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, and China, which have found evidence of NIHL in children and young adults. Another study measured sound levels in band and industrial technology classrooms that had volumes up to 110 dB. Lee et al concluded that threshold shifts up to 10 dB were apparent after listening to music through a headset for three hours at a normally used out!
This shows that children and young adults are exposed--or can be exposed--to many sounds at a level that is above the threshold of sound that is safe. Music is one of the sounds that causes NIHL.
According to the National Health Interview Survey, from 1971 to 1990, hearing problems among 45- to 64-year-olds increased 26 percent. Also, there was a 17 percent increase in 18- to 44-year-olds. In California, with a sample group of 5,000 people, the number of affected people in their 50s increased 150 percent between 1965 and 1994.
The experimenter will find a random sample of 100 students who attend Marshall Middle School. There will be 50 boys and 50 girls. The experimenter will measure the level of their music in decibels with a digital sound-level meter. The experimenter will ask several questions, some including how long do you listen to your music on average per day, how many months have you been listening to your music at this length. The experimenter will ask them to rate the following in order of their importance: preventing hearing loss; doing homework; hanging out with friends; doing chores; being on time; getting good grades. The experimenter will record what type of system participants use to listen to music, (i.e. CD player, iPod, car stereo, radio, etc.) the number of headsets (if any) they use with this system, if they had any signs of Tinnitus, a continuous ringing or buzzing in the ear caused by loud noises. The experimenter will record the study participants' age/grade and gender!
The experimenter will tell them the decibel level of their music, and if it is over 80 dB7. The experimenter would warn them of the risk of hearing loss.
The ear is a very delicate structure. It is made up of three parts that help you hear. First the sound goes through the auditory canal of the outer ear. The auditory canal funnels the sound you are hearing into your head. Then the sound waves vibrate a fine membrane called the eardrum and several small bones in the middle ear move. One of these small bones is connected to a structure in the inner ear. This is the cochlea. Whenever a sound wave reaches the cochlea, it makes fluid and a special "hair cell" which sends a message to the brain that you heard a sound.
If just one of these three parts malfunctions, a person will experience temporary damage (sometimes it can even be permanent). Malfunctions can include wax plugging your outer ear, infections, and/or damage to the nerve. Damage to the nerve can inhibit sound waves from reaching the brain. You can also have impaired pitch resolution. Impaired pitch resolution is a condition when the ear doesn't seperate out complex sounds, so the brain receives a blurry sound instead of a clear signal. For example, people sometimes say they can hear you speaking but can't hear what you're saying. Normally, the first to be affected are high tones, which include the letters p, s, f, t and d, and sh, ch, h and soft c. Hearing parts of words, a sentence can sound like this: "Can you un er an i e e e wi ou e igh one?" 8
Many middle-school students listen to personal stereos and/or "boom-boxes". Students who listen to these need to be aware of the volume at which they are listening. If the volume poses a risk to their hearing through NIHL, they should know. Many children and young adults are gradually losing their hearing due to loud noises such as loud music, recreational vehicles, TV and/or computer, and sometimes even toys. NIHL will affect you throughout your life, and there is no going back. You can sometimes have surgery or wear hearing aids to improve your hearing, but you will never be completely up to the threshold of hearing before the NIHL. If more students knew this, they would turn down the volume. This would prevent many Americans from losing their hearing.
Footnotes
1. "Personal Stereo Systems and Hearing Loss." NAD- National Association for Deaf People. NAD- National Association for Deaf People. . 21 Sept. 2005.
2. "The Precalence and Incidence of Hearing Loss in Children." American Speech Language Hearing Association. . 25 Sept. 2005.
3. Niparko, John K. "Baby Boom Hearing Loss." Hearing Loss Web. 7 Apr. 1999. John Hopkins School of Medicine. .
25 Sept. 2005
4. "Personal Stereo Systems and Hearing Loss." NAD- National Association for Deaf People. NAD- National Association for Deaf People. . 21 Sept. 2005.
5. Dr. Pinette, Gilles. "Noise causes hearing loss. (Health)." Wind Speaker 1 Dec. 2002: 21
6. Jeannie, Chung H. "Evaluation of noise-induced hearing loss in young people using a web-based survey technique." Pediatrics 1 Apr. 2005
7. "Decibel." Wikipedia. . 21 Sept. 2005
8. Niparko, John K. "Baby Boom Hearing Loss."
9. Swami, Jayadvaita. "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss: What it is and what it may mean to ISKCON devotees (including you)." Krishna. 16 Feb. 1994. . (21 Sept. 2005)
Homework Help: Health: Diseases & Disorders
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