Watch those ears!

January 6, 2020

Watch those ears at yesterdays game

You won’t believe how loud it gets in the Dome!

The Super Dome is always loud and proud. But can all that cheering and screaming be hazardous to your hearing?

“Last year for Rams game we were at 128 decibels!” Says Jamie Pierre with Ochsner. She tells WWL-TV that’s like standing under a fighter plane taking off from an aircraft carrier.

Can being exposed to all that cheering in the Dome really have an impact?

“Your risk to experiencing hearing loss as a spectator is expected to be little less than someone working an eight hour shift at a noisy factory,” Pierre says. So yes, the Dome’s roaring crowds can have effects on your hearing:

“If you do have a hearing loss, then what will is the good hearing that you might have left, or even any hearing you may have, you’re at risk for making that hearing loss worse.”

Pierre cautions fans to take care against damaging their hearing. She says wear ear plugs:

“They’re very small, they’re discreet and they’re very good for you.”

Pierre also emphasizes protecting children’s hearing by covering their ears with earmuffs.

It was 2013 when the decibel level at the Dome came just short of the loudest crowd roar on record.

So you heard it hear folks! Protect those ears..

Source

https://wwl.radio.com/articles/watch-those-ears-at-todays-game

OSHA FACT SHEET

December 30, 2019

Laboratory Safety Noise

Millions of workers are exposed to dangerous levels of noise in their workplaces. Over the past 20 years, government agencies have consistently identified noise induced hearing loss as one of the top concerns of workers. Noise in laboratories is a growing concern.

Because of concern about noise in clinical laboratories, accrediting agencies are implementing special emphasis programs on noise reduction in these workplaces. As a result of this concern, the College of American Pathologists added laboratory noise evaluation to their General Checklist for Accreditation.

DOWNLOAD OSHA FACT SHEET

SOURCE

www.osha.gov OSHA

Seasons Greetings!

December 23, 2019

From all of us at Custom Protect Ear…

We want at to wish you a Happy Holidays and prosperous New Year.

Thank you for making this year so great. May you and your family have a very merry holiday season and happy New Year.

PLEASE NOTE:
The Custom Protect Ear Office and Lab will be closed
December 23, 2019 and reopen (regular hours) Thursday January 2, 2020.

Is Technology Use Is Damaging our Children’s Hearing?

December 19, 2019

U.S. Parents Worry Popular Technology Use Is Damaging Their Children’s Hearing But Still Plan to Purchase Tech Gifts This Holiday Season

ASHA Shares “Safe Listening” Advice This Cyber Week

ROCKVILLE, Md. (December 3, 2019) A new national poll of more than 1,100 parents of children under age 18 finds that seven in 10 parents are concerned about their child developing hearing damage from listening to popular technology devices such as music players, tablets, and smartphones—and 86% think their children listen to their devices at volumes that are too loud.

Commissioned by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and conducted by YouGov November 1–5, 2019, the polling also shows that despite concerns, over half of parents plan to purchase a tech-related gift for their child this holiday season.

“With the holiday shopping season in full swing, many parents are purchasing personal technology devices as well as related accessories such as earbuds or headphones for their kids,” said Shari Robertson, PhD, CCC-SLP, ASHA 2019 President. “For us, this is the ideal time to encourage smart shopping habits for parents as well as offer safe listening advice they can impart to kids as they give them these gifts.”

Source

https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8460154-asha-safe-listening-tips-holiday-poll/

Holiday Safe Listening: Noisy Technology, Toys and Places

December 17, 2019

Holiday Safe Listening: Noisy Technology, Toys and Places

Between new technology gifts (used with earbuds or headphones), noisy toys, and loud holiday parties and concerts, the holiday season brings welcome revelry but also a lot of noise.

Read on for more information—and download and share these resources with your family, friends, and clients/patients to help encourage the public to protect their hearing.

Safe Listening Tips: Holiday Gifts and Hearing Protection

Buying a tech gift for your child this holiday season? More than 1 billion young people worldwide are at risk of developing hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices from noisy technology and leisure settings. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association offers three easy tips to teach safe listening and help kids protect their hearing.

Business in the Gig Economy

December 13, 2019

The gig economy is coming, and the manufacturing sector needs to prepare.

In this type of system, independent workers are paid by the gig, typically a specific project, and when that project is complete, the worker moves on. It’s a setup that is particularly appealing to millennials and is widespread in the IT and entertainment industries.

It is expected that within the next two years millennials will become the largest portion of the workforce demographic, and many of these workers will be employed as independent contractors. This is a dramatic change from the status quo, and it requires companies to form a strategy on managing what could be a constantly changing workforce.

Gig workers have a clear understanding of the work-life balance that they want, and they put as much emphasis on the life side of the equation as they do on the work side.

But jobs in the manufacturing sector are rooted in the long-standing tradition of advancing along an established career path. While the apprentice/journeyperson/master model has been replaced by the worker/team leader/manager model in many shops, the progression still takes time and commitment from both the employee and the employer.

Gig workers simply parachute into a company for a set amount of time and then leave once the task is done.

It’s a foreign concept for many manufacturers.

In his paper “Independent Workers: What Role for Public Policy?” American economist Alan Krueger wrote that currently the number of gig economy workers in the manufacturing sector is low. However, the longer the skilled-trades gap remains an issue for manufacturers, the more desperate they will get to find any type of worker to fill open jobs.

Because the manufacturing sector is having such trouble finding workers to fill full-time jobs, the gig economy could be a way to solve this problem, at least on a project-by-project basis.

To survive in the gig economy, manufacturers must blaze their own trail and not try to copy other sectors.

No matter what type of worker is employed, a focus on productivity and quality still must be maintained.

In the gig economy, manufacturers should focus on a worker’s skill set and ability to mesh with a team, rather than the amount of time they will stay with the company.

JOE THOMPSON, EDITOR

jthompson@canadianmetalworking.com

SOURCE

https://www.canadianmetalworking-digital.com/canadianmetalworking/december_2019/MobilePagedArticle.action?articleId=1544279&app=false#articleId1544279

Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention Resources – please share!

December 9, 2019

Noise and Hearing Loss Prevention

Loud noise can damage hearing or cause permanent hearing loss. Dangerous noise levels can be found in workplaces such as industrial, commercial and retail and recreational settings like restaurants, stadiums, and clubs; in the classroom; or even on our own personal audio devices.

What is a safe noise level?

We record noise levels in decibels, or dBA. The higher the noise level, the louder the noise.

You can listen to sounds at 70 dBA or lower for as long as you want. Sounds at 85 dBA can lead to hearing loss if you listen to them for more than 8 hours at a time. For personal listening devices, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a volume of no more than 80 dBA for adults and 75 dBA for children.

WHO Standard for Safe Listening

Safe Listening: Devices and Systems [PDF]

ASHA Resources for Hearing Loss Prevention

How ASHA Promotes Hearing Health

Besides the resources above, ASHA is very active in promoting hearing health and raising the profile of hearing issues on many domestic and international fronts.

Domestically:

From the first days of digital media, ASHA has been a national leader raising concerns about the potential impact of unhealthy personal audio device use. For a decade, ASHA’s Listen to Your Buds campaign put on “safe listening concerts” in schools nationwide to educate children about hearing health.
ASHA’s Healthy Communication & Popular Technology Initiative focuses on raising public awareness about the importance of healthy usage of personal audio devices.
Launched in 2013, ASHA’s Identify the Signs campaign is dedicated to educating the public about the warning signs of communication disorders and the importance of acting quickly at the first sign of trouble.
In 2011, ASHA partnered with AARP in assessing the hearing health of its members; polling indicated a significant degree of untreated hearing loss and led to ASHA’s Speak Up for Hearing Loss national campaign that encouraged people to seek professional guidance and help with hearing care.

Internationally:

At WHO’s request, ASHA serves as an ongoing advisor on the Make Listening Safe campaign, a WHO initiative that produced the first global standard for safe listening on personal devices.
ASHA is a member of the World Hearing Forum, a WHO-established global network of stakeholders dedicated to promoting ear and hearing care worldwide.
Through a digital campaign, ASHA participates annually in World Hearing Day (March 3), raising awareness and educating the public about hearing-related issues.
ASHA is a founder of the International Communication Project, which is dedicated to raising the profile of communication disorders with global policymakers.

To learn more about hearing protection and hearing conservation check out our resources:

Custom Protect Ear Hearing Resources

Hearing Protection

Hearing Conservation

NOISE-RELATED HEARING LOSS VIDEO (See below)

SOURCE

https://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Noise-and-Hearing-Loss-Prevention/

Critical ways to protect your ears

December 7, 2019

Once your hearing is damaged, it’s gone for good. That’s why we raise awareness about the prevalence of hearing loss, the importance of early diagnosis, and the options for taking action to find the best hearing solution for your needs. We are seeing an influx of wearers requesting using custom hearing protection over disposable – Click here to learn more.

Don’t wait until it’s too late to start taking care of your ears! Here are nine easy ways to protect your ears and your hearing health.

1. Use hearing protection around loud, intense noises

Approximately 15% of Americans have noise-induced hearing loss because of loud work or leisure environments.

Clubs, concerts, lawnmowers, chainsaws, and any other noises that force you to shout so the person next to you can hear your voice all create dangerous levels of sound. Earplugs are convenient and easy to obtain. You can even have a pair custom fitted for your ears by your local hearing healthcare provider.

Musicians’ earplugs are custom earplugs with filters that allow a person to hear conversations and music but still reduce harmful sound levels while maintaining the quality of the original sound as closely as possible.

2. Turn the volume down

According to the World Health Organization, 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults worldwide are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss from unsafe use of audio devices.

If you like to enjoy music through headphones or earbuds, you can protect your ears by following the 60/60 rule. The suggestion is to listen with headphones at no more than 60% volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.

Earbuds are especially dangerous, as they fit directly next to the eardrum. If possible, opt for over-the-ear headphones.

Don’t forget that any loud music, not just music played through headphones, presents a risk for noise-induced hearing loss. If you’re hosting a social event, keep the music at a volume which won’t force people to shout in order to hold a conversation

3. Give your ears time to recover

If you are exposed to loud noises for a prolonged period of time, like at a concert or a bar, your ears need time to recover. If you can, step outside for five minutes every so often in order to let them rest.

What’s more, researchers have found that your ears need an average of 16 hours of quiet to recover from one loud night out.

4. Stop using cotton swabs in your ears

It’s common for people to use cotton swabs to clean wax out of their ear canal, but this is definitely not advisable. A little bit of wax in your ears is not only normal, but it’s also important. The ears are self-cleaning organs, and wax stops dust and other harmful particles from entering the canal. Plus, inserting anything inside your ear canals risks damaging sensitive organs like your ear drum.

If you have excess wax, you can clean around the canal with a damp towel—gently. You could also use ear wax removal solution over the course of a few nights. This softens the wax so that it will eventually flow out on its own. The best solution is always to seek a professional opinion and care when possible.

5. Take medications only as directed

Certain medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) like aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen, can sometimes contribute to hearing loss. Discuss medications with your doctor if you’re concerned that they’ll impact your hearing ability and take them only as directed.

6. Keep your ears dry

Excess moisture can allow bacteria to enter and attack the ear canal. This can cause swimmer’s ear or other types of ear infections, which can be dangerous for your hearing ability. Be sure you gently towel-dry your ears after bathing or swimming. If you can feel water in the ear, tilt your head to the side and tug lightly on the ear lobe to coax the water out.

You can also ensure that your ears stay dry and healthy by using custom-fit swimmers’ earplugs, which block water from entering the ear canal. They’re great for adults and kids alike, and they work wonders in preventing swimmer’s ear. Make an appointment with your local hearing health professional to get fitted.

7. Get up and move

Did you know that exercise is good for your ears? It’s true. Cardio exercises like walking, running, or cycling gets the blood pumping to all parts of your body, including the ears. This helps the ears’ internal parts stay healthy and working to their maximum potential.

Make sure to stay safe! When cycling, always wear a helmet. If you fall and hit your head, a concussion can harm your hearing.

8. Manage stress levels

Stress and anxiety have been linked to both temporary and permanent tinnitus (a phantom ringing in the ears). High levels of stress cause your body to go into fight or flight mode, which is an instinctual reaction that fills your body with adrenaline to help you either fight or flee from danger. This process puts a lot of pressure on your nerves, blood flow, body heat, and more. It’s commonly thought that this pressure and stress can travel up into your inner ear and contribute to tinnitus symptoms.

9. Get regular checkups

Ask your primary care physician to incorporate hearing screenings into your regular checkups. Because hearing loss develops gradually, it’s also recommended that you have annual hearing consultations with a hearing healthcare professional. That way, you’ll be more likely to recognize signs of hearing loss and take action as soon as you do.

Taking action is important because untreated hearing loss, besides detracting from quality of life and the strength of relationships, has been linked to other health concerns like depression, dementia, and heart disease.

Do your ears a favor get customized or personal hearing protection. Learn more .

Source

https://www.earq.com/hearing-health/articles/9-ways-to-protect-your-ears

Hearing Loss Tips for a Loud Thanksgiving

November 28, 2019

Thanksgiving is a time to gather together with the people we’re grateful for. It usually means a family dinner is on the way. A dinner filled with music, laughter, and conversation, a lot of it – all at once – and typically in a small room. As you can probably imagine, it can be a very difficult sound environment for someone with hearing loss to make out what’s being said.

Holidays can present an intimidating challenge for the millions of people with hearing loss. We wanted to compile some tips and suggestions for making it through the holidays with hearing loss. First up, how to be mindful of our hard of hearing friends and loved ones at Thanksgiving.

Let Your Family Know

One of the first things that comes to mind around Thanksgiving is family. While everyone is completely entitled to handle their hearing loss as privately as they would like, most hearing professionals will suggest letting your family know. When everyone is on the same page, it gives others the opportunity to be more mindful. Hearing loss is never something to hide or feel ashamed about, let it be known and hopefully it improves the level of communication.

Thanksgiving is a time when we get together to catch up and talk about the changes in our lives with people that love us. Take the opportunity to be open and honest about your hearing loss while everyone is together. As long as you feel comfortable, speaking to others you’re close to about your hearing loss can significantly improve your odds of hearing more clearly at any family event.

According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, nearly twenty percent of the U.S. population lives with some form of hearing loss. If your Thanksgiving group consists of 10 people, regardless of age, it’s possible that at least two of them may be having a slightly more difficult time hearing than you thought.

The reality is that many people will go to their holiday festivities and essentially “fake their way” through conversations, rather than politely asking others to be mindful of their hearing loss. Often, a level of pride or even embarrassment can prevent them from revealing their hearing loss.

This might lead to attempts at reading lips, nodding, or agreeing to some part of what was said, without comprehending fully. With speech being one of the more difficult frequencies – it’s no easy task to make out individual voices clearly among the cacophony of other sounds around the table.

Conversation matters

The most difficult everyday circumstance for those with hearing loss is a conversation. Trouble understanding speech, in particular, has led to significant improvements in the speech-enhancement technology being developed in modern hearing aids.One of the most surefire ways to improve your ability to hear and converse with other is by wearing hearing aids. They are able to do more than just amplify the noise, but can also make it clear. Hearing aids channel sound through certain frequency ranges in order to make them more understandable.

If you have a friend or family member who is reluctant or hesitant about integrating hearing aids into their life – give them a helpful nudge in the right direction. Suggest a hearing a hearing test to determine the level of hearing loss and learn more about the types of hearing aids available from a professional.

Tips for Able-Hearing Family Members

There are other things you can do to ensure your friends or loved ones with hearing loss still feel part of the conversation. Cut the background music. Music can blend the sounds together from the start – so can loud TVs. You can also make it a point to sit closer together. Get comfortable, get close. You’ll hear and be heard better.

If everyone is making a unified effort to improve the level of communication in the room, there will be far less guessing of words or saying, “What?” At the same time, if someone does ask you to repeat yourself or asks, “what was that?” – don’t shrug it off with a “never mind” or “don’t worry about it.” This can come off as unintentionally dismissive, creating further detachment from the conversation.

This Thanksgiving, before you wonder what spices to marinate your turkey in, remember to think about how you can help those in your family with hearing loss overcome the “Thanksgiving dinner jitters.” After all, you may be saving the holidays for them entirely and relieve their nerves for Christmas dinner.

From all of us at Protect Ear – Happy thanksgiving!

SOURCE – https://bloomhearing.com/hearing-tips/hearing-loss-tips-for-a-loud-thanksgiving/

Hazard Hearing Environments-Metal Fabrication

November 26, 2019

When mobile workers in lean shops move into and out of noise-hazardous areas, they can’t simply wear maximum protection at all times to block out every hazardous noise.

Here are some tips on selecting the right protector for any situation that can solve these problems.
Despite the ongoing industry-wide attention and investment in hearing conservation programs and engineering solutions, extreme noise levels and the potential for noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) are still being encountered by workers throughout the metal fabrication industry. A properly fitted foam earplug provides a simple solution for the highest level of protection, recommended where exposure to potentially damaging levels of noise may be encountered. A wide variety of foam earplug shapes and sizes are offered, however foam ear plugs are not always the safest and most reliable protection for your ears. Over the past few years, we are seeing a shift in Occupational Health and Safety persuading workers and managers to adopt custom, personal or moulded hearing protection. To learn some tips for achieving the best possible fit of hearing protection see below.

If dirty or gloved hands make use of a roll-down foam earplug difficult, consider a hearing protector with a stem. Even some foam earplugs and custom ear plugs include a stem for insertion like the dB Blocker Grip. The new dB Blocker Grip innovative design targets industries where dirt, grime and larger hands may be an issue.

The new Grip’s non-slip integrated handle is formed in a single piece of dB Blocker silicone in order to deliver hassle-free ease of insertion screen-shot-2016-09-27-at-12-20-50-pm and removal. Learn more.

Multiple-use hearing protection often make the best option for intermittent noise levels, or for situations where levels may require raised voices for clear communication. These protectors can be quickly and easily removed or replaced as hazardous noise levels increase or subside. Multiple-use models are usually available in a variety of shapes and sizes to match the variations in users’ ear canals.

Ear muffs can be used either alone or with insertable hearing protection of some type. In general, the larger the earcup of the muff, the greater the attenuation or lessening of the noise. The rule of thumb for dual protection is to add 5 dB to the attenuation of the hearing protection for the use of an earmuff in combination. Generally the earplug or ear mold is the more variable fit.

Where both hearing protection and clear communications are required, modern PPE technology offers two types of solutions. (Both beat the “old school” answer to this situation, wherein workers in a noisy environment just take out their earplugs whenever someone speaks to them. For obvious reasons, this is not a recommended solution. That is why more workers are wearing dB Blockers as its hearing protection you can hear through. The proprietary frequency tuned filter allows interpersonal communication without removal. People can communicate in noise better while wearing their dB Blockers™ hearing protectors than if they were to remove them. Your hearing loss prevention program will not interfere with productivity. Learn more.

For the most technologically sophisticated solution, consider a communication system. This advanced device incorporates hearing protection, active noise reduction, and voice signal amplification. It’s recommended where clear communication is critical, as in workplaces where misunderstanding a verbal communication could cause an injury or even a fatality.

In lean manufacturing, as more workers become mobile and move between or into and out of noise-hazardous areas, challenges with mobile workers present unknown exposure levels, uncertain availability of protection equipment, and difficulty in monitoring PPE use. PPE should be readily available at each worksite, everywhere that it is needed. Workers should know when and how to use their hearing protection. A good rule of thumb is that if you have to shout to speak to someone approximately an arm’s length away, you should both have hearing protection on.

The metalworking industry presents a stunning variety of hearing hazards, as punching, cutting, casting, stamping and forming machinery, equipment and tools of all varieties assault the ears with all sorts of constant, intermittent, and impact noise. In such a dynamic environment, with people and machines constantly on the move, it’s critical that workers maintain situational awareness to operate safely. However, they can’t simply wear maximum protection at all times to block out every hazardous noise. Such overprotection could too easily make them miss important voice communications or warning signals.

Nor can they periodically remove their hearing protectors to monitor machines or speak with colleagues. That’s a sure way to risk permanent, noise-induced hearing loss.

HEARING CONSERVATION
Whether a formal hearing conservation program is required or not, the goal is to have a safe work environment at all work locations. Workers should go home with the same level of health and wellness the brought to work. Using the right hearing protection maintains a worker’s hearing health, but also allows that worker to safely complete his or her job.

Regulations require that employers furnish adequate hearing protection on the job. Finding the right hearing safeguards for the myriad needs at worksites across the metalworking industry not only provides compliance: it ensures that workers remain protected and productive. Learn more about improving productivity in the metal machine & fabrication industry or download the PDF – Click here to download a brochure (Adobe PDF)

SOURCE

Hearing Protection