How does noise damage the ear?

Your mother was right when she warned you that loud music could damage your hearing, but now scientists have discovered exactly what gets damaged and how. In a research report published in the September 2013 issue of The FASEB Journal, scientists describe exactly what type of damage noise does to the inner ear, and provide insights into a compound that may prevent noise-related damage.
To find out more, follow the link to Science Daily.

 

How to stop work-related hearing loss

Working in loud environments over long periods of time can result in hearing loss. The most effective way to prevent hearing loss is to prevent or eliminate noise at the source. Purchase quieter machinery. Install engineered controls such as buffer walls or muffling equipment. If this is not possible, use administrative controls such as rotating tasks to minimize the length of time a worker is exposed to noise. If a worker has to be exposed to noise, he or she must wear the right hearing protection.

Hearing Loss Prevention

There are several varieties of hearing protection available. Choosing the best model for your specific needs is important to your overall safety.

Earplugs

An earplug is a device worn in the external ear canal. The earplug protects the inner ear by blocking and reducing noise levels. Earplugs can be custom-molded to fit the individual wearer. Earplugs can be made from vinyl, silicone, elastomer formulations, cotton, wax, spun glass wool and slow-recovery closed-cell foam.

Semi-insert Earplugs

A semi-insert earplug is a device worn against the opening of the external ear canal. The semi-insert earplug works in much the same way as plugging your ears with your fingers. Semi-insert earplugs are made in a one-size-fits-all method. The device is held in place with a lightweight headband.

Earmuffs

An earmuff is a device that completely encloses the outer ear and seals against the head with a cushion. Composed of a headband and two ear cups that are usually made of plastic. The headband may be made of metal or plastic. The cushion inside the ear cup is usually made of foam or it may be filled with fluid. Most earmuffs have a lining inside the ear cup to absorb the sound that is transmitted through the shell of the ear cup. Some earmuffs are designed so that the headband can be worn over the head, behind the neck, or under the chin. Some earmuffs are designed to fit over hard hats.
The most effective way to protect against hearing loss, is to wear hearing protection 100% of the time.

Source: WorkSafe Saskatchewan

FDA approves new vaccine for meningococcal disease

Meningitis Angels are celebrating the announcement of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) expanded approval of Menveo, a vaccine used to help prevent meningococcal disease caused by four strains (A,C,Y, W-135) of the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis (N. meningitidis). The vaccine is now approved for use in infants and toddlers starting as early as 2 months of age.
Meningococcal disease is an aggressive, fast-acting illness that can affect previously healthy babies and may lead to death within 24 hours. According to experts, infants, in addition to adolescents, are most susceptible to contracting meningococcal disease in the U.S. The highest fatality rates are also recorded in these age groups.
"We are fooling ourselves if we believe that meningococcal meningitis is just a teen or college disease," said Frankie Milley, founder and national director of Meningitis Angels. "Even though there is still no approved vaccine in the U.S. to help protect against meningococcal serogroup B infections, the fifth remaining serogroup, this is a huge step in the fight against meningococcal disease in infants."
With this approval, a vaccine can now help protect infants and toddlers against four of the five serogroups that cause this seriously debilitating and sometimes fatal disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the overall case fatality rate associated with meningococcal disease is 10%-14%, while up to 20% of survivors suffer serious life-long consequences, including, blindness, deafness, brain damage, organ damage or limb loss.
Meningitis Angels knows firsthand the devastation this disease can cause. Milley lost her only child, Ryan, to the disease when he was 18 years old. "Within our organization over the years we have seen the consequences of this disease on our children. It seems to me that babies experience the worst outcome. I have seen once beautiful babies and young children suffer the loss of their faces, tongues, limbs, vision and hearing. They sometimes develop a severe seizure disorder, organ and brain damage and some even die," stated Milley.
The CDC and their Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) now have to make the important decision of whether to recommend that all infants receive this lifesaving vaccine in order to move towards eradicating this unpredictable and devastating disease. Current ACIP meningococcal vaccine recommendations include adolescents aged 11 through 18 years, infants aged 2 months or older who are considered to have increased risk for the disease.
Milley and Meningitis Angels plan to attend ACIP's hearings later this year to plead the case that recommending Menveo in infants is the right thing to do as it can save lives.
"No infant should suffer what some have previously experienced. No parent should have to watch their once perfect child lay in a hospital for months, body rotting away and have to sign papers for doctors to amputate body parts bit by bit. No parent should have to stand helplessly and watch their child literally bleed to death, as I did, from a disease that is preventable with a vaccine," continued Milley. "When it comes to prevention of deadly disease through vaccination, we all must do the right thing and vaccinate."
For more information on meningitis visit www.meningitis-angels.org.

Many teens have permanent ringing in the ears

One in five high schoolers has permanent ringing in the ears, and few take measures to protect their ears from loud music, according to a new study.
Those numbers are surprisingly similar to results of a study of college-aged adults, said lead author Annick Gilles, a clinical audiologist at Antwerp University Hospital in Edegem, Belgium.
She and her coauthors had expected the numbers to be higher for college-aged people, who "go out a lot," she told Reuters Health.
Tinnitus, or ringing in the ears, caused by loud noise exposure is clearly linked to hearing damage, she said. People with permanent ringing in the ears may be able to hear the same volumes of sound as before the damage, but often have trouble separating speech sounds out of a mix of noises
To read more, please visit:
Many teens have permanent ringing in the ears - Ear Health - C-Health

Image courtesy of [stockimages] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Home Remedy Ear Wax Removal

Where the hearing hairs go to die