Download How to prevent yourselves from hearing loss

Russian Federation
Department of Education
State Secondary School № 2006
Нearing Loss in Teens
linked to
Personal Listening Devices
This project has been done
by Dobrova Julia, 9 A Grade
Supervised by Irina O. Belova,
The English Language Teacher
MOSCOW
2015
Content
1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………… 3
2. Main Part
o Part 1
 Hearing. The structure of auditory analyzer. ………………… 4
o Part 2
 PLDs. History of invention. …………………………………. 6
 Forms of PLDs. Purposes of using PLDs. ………………….. 6
o Part 3
 Adolescents and PLDs. ……………………………………… 9
 Ways of losing hearing. ……………………………………..11
 Survey comments. …………………………………………... 12
 How to prevent yourselves from hearing loss.
Doctor’s advices. …………………………………………… 13
3. Conclusion. …………………………………………………………………. 15
4. Appendixes. ………………………………………………………………… 16
5. Bibliography. ………………………………………………………………… 19
2
Introduction
ACTUALITY. Personal listening devices like iPods have become increasingly
popular among young people in recent years. The ability of Personal Listening
Devices (PLDs) to contribute to permanent hearing damage is particularly
alarming because adolescent and young adults PLD users tend to be unaware that
noise induced hearing loss can result from excessive PLD use.
We believe it is a very interesting and current topic. Every day you are confronted
with mp3-players, headphones or insert phones. But music played through
headphones too loud or too long might pose a significant risk to hearing. Here we
come back to the main aim of "which effect this has on hearing loss".
Except from the main problem, there are other relevant issues:
·
which the limit standards are,
·
their legally limited standards of level are,
·
it is necessary that their come legally limited standards of level,
·
why youngsters listen to loud music,
·
if the adolescents know the effects of hearing to too loud music,
·
their interventions are.
Hypothesis: The less teens use PLDs, the better thier hearing will be.
In our work we made an attempt to analyze and to find answers to these questions
and try to create a more and totally view on the situation.
METHODS.
1. Survey. 370 adolescents-volunteers (12–18 years of age) in 17 classes in our
secondary schools were invited to complete questionnaires about their musiclistening behaviors.
2. Studying and analysis the works on the topic, scientific researches and the
Internet sources.
3. Setting up healthy awareness program in our school.
3
Part 1
Hearing. The structure of auditory analyzer
Ear as a peripheral organ of the auditory analyzer consists not only of the receptor
apparatus, hidden deep in the temporal bone and forming together with the
vestibular apparatus of the so-called inner ear. Of considerable importance are
those parts of the ear that are associated with the capture of sounds and their
conduct to the receptor apparatus.
Sound conducting apparatus - a
middle ear, or tympanum. Sounddevice, or outer ear consists of the
external auditory canal and pinna.
Tympanic cavity communicates with
the outside air through a special
channel - auditory or eustachian tube,
outside the hole is located in the wall
of nasopharynx. Usually, it closed, but at the time of swallowing revealed. When a
sudden change in atmospheric pressure, such as the descent into a deep pit, when
climbing or landing of aircraft, it may be a significant difference between the
pressure of outside air and air pressure in the tympanic cavity, which causes
discomfort and sometimes damage the eardrum. Disclosure of the holes of the
auditory tube helps equalize pressure, but because when the pressure of outside air
is recommended to make frequent swallowing movements.
Inside the tympanic cavity contains three
auditory bones - hammer, anvil and stirrup,
interconnected by joints. The middle ear is
separated from the outer eardrum, but from the
internal - the bone wall with two holes.
Air sound waves entering the ear canal,
causing vibrations of the eardrum, which
through the auditory ossicles, as well as through the air trapped in the middle ear,
inner ear perilymph are transmitted.
Among the various theories explaining the mechanism of peripheral sound
analysis, the most reasonable must be considered a resonance theory proposed by
Helmholtz in 1863. If you open the piano to play some musical instrument or voice
sound a certain height, it begins to resonate, ie, in response to sound, string, tuned
to the same tone. By studying the structural features of the main plate snails,
Helmholtz concluded that the sound waves coming from the environment, cause
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fluctuations of the transverse fibers of the plate on the principle of resonance. In all
there are in the main plate of about 24 000 cross elastic fibers. They vary in length
and degree of tension: the shortest and taut located at the base of the cochlea, the
closer to its peak, so they are longer and less strained. According to the resonance
theory, the different parts of the main plate oscillation of its fibers react to the
sounds of different heights.
5
Part 2
History of invention of headphones
Headphones originated from the earpiece, and were the only way to listen to
electrical audio signals before amplifiers were developed. The first truly successful
set was developed in 1910 by Nathaniel Baldwin, who made them by hand in his
kitchen and sold them to the United States Navy.
Some very sensitive headphones, such as those manufactured by Brandes around
1919, were commonly used for early radio work. These early headphones used
moving iron drivers, with either single ended or balanced armatures.
In 1943, John C. Koss, an audiophile and jazz musician from Milwaukee, produced
the first stereo headphones. Previously, headphones were used only by telephone
and radio operators, and individuals in similar industries.
Types
Headphone size can affect the balance between fidelity and portability. Generally,
headphone form factors can be divided into four separate categories: circumaural,
supra-aural, earbud, and in-ear.
Circumaural
Supra-aural
- Circumaural
headphones
- Supra-aural
headphones
Open or closed
back
- Open-back;
- Closed-back;
- Semi-open
Ear-fitting
headphones
- Earphones;
- In-ear
headphones;
1. Circumaural headphones (sometimes called full size headphones) have
circular or ellipsoid earpads that encompass the ears.
Because these headphones completely surround the ear,
circumaural headphones can be designed to fully seal
against the head to attenuate external noise. Because of
their size, circumaural headphones can be heavy and there are some sets that
weigh over 500 grams.
2. Supra-aural headphones have pads that press against the ears, rather than
around them. They were commonly bundled with
personal stereos during the 1980s. This type of
headphone generally tends to be smaller and lighter than
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circumaural headphones, resulting in less attenuation of outside noise.
Supra-aural headphones can also lead to discomfort due to the pressure on
the ear as compared to circumaural headphones that sit around the ear.
Comfort may vary due to the earcup material.
3. Open-back headphones have the back of the earcups
open. This leaks more sound out of the headphone and
also lets more ambient sounds into the headphone, but
gives a more natural or speaker-like sound and more
spacious “soundstage” – the perception of distance from
the source.
4. Closed-back (or sealed) styles have the back of the earcups closed. They
usually block some of the ambient noise, but have a
smaller soundstage, giving the wearer a perception that
the sound is coming from within their head. Closed-back
headphones tend to be able to produce stronger low
frequencies than open-back headphones.
5. Semi-open headphones, have a design that can be considered as a
compromise between open-back headphones and closedback headphones. This may imply that the result
combines all the positive properties of both designs.
Some believe the term “semi-open” is purely there for
marketing purposes. While there is no exact definition
for the term semi-open headphone, there are designs that can be considered
as such. Where the open-back approach has hardly any measure to block
sound at the outer side of the diaphragm, and the closed-back approach,
really has a closed chamber at the outer side of the diaphragm, a semi-open
headphone can have a chamber to block sound partially while leaving some
sound through, via openings or vents.
6.
(popularly called “earbuds” in recent years) are very small
headphones that are fitted directly in the outer ear,
facing but not inserted in the ear canal. Earphones are
portable and convenient, but many people consider
them to be uncomfortable and prone to falling out.
They provide hardly any acoustic isolation and leave
room for ambient noise to seep in; users may turn up the volume
dangerously high to compensate, at the risk of causing hearing loss. On the
other hand, they let the user be better aware of their surroundings. Since the
Earphones
early days of the transistor radio, earphones have commonly been bundled
with personal music devices.
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7. In-ear headphones, also known as in-ear monitors (IEMs) or canalphones,
are small headphones with similar portability to
earbuds which are inserted in the ear canal itself. IEMs
are higher quality in-ear headphones and are used by
audio engineers and musicians as well as audiophiles.
Because in-ear headphones engage the ear canal, they
can be less prone to falling out and they block out
much environmental noise. Lack of sound from the environment can be a
problem when sound is a necessary cue for safety or other reasons, as when
walking, driving, or riding near or in vehicular traffic. Generic or custom
fitting ear canal plugs are made from silicone rubber, elastomer, or foam.
Custom in-ear headphones use castings of the ear canal to create custommolded plugs that provide added comfort and noise isolation.
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Part 3
Adolescents and PLDs
Teens love to listen to music and sometimes with the volume louder than those
around them appreciate. Most teenagers prefer the in the ear style of headphones
for both comfort and they way they look. The fun thing is that you can get some
pretty cool looking pairs that will also do a good job of giving them a good
listening experience. Whether they are listening to their favorite tunes, playing a
video game or using the headphones with their phone to listen to a conversation
with a friend.
Now, a new study from Children's Hospital Boston and City University of New
York (CUNY) – the largest of its kind to date - also finds that the majority of
college students using MP3 players and iPods exceed the recommended sound
limits while listening.
To investigate this alarming trend, Brian Fligor, Sc.D. CCC-A, director of the
Diagnostic Audiology Program at Children's Hospital Boston, and his collaborators
at CUNY, Sandra Levey, Ph.D., and Tania Levey, Ph.D., recorded the MP3 and
iPod headphone levels of 189 college students at a New York City university as
they entered the campus.
The findings, which Fligor calls "extremely concerning," were not really
surprising, considering recent research suggesting that today's teenagers have
worse hearing than those of generations past – mostly due to exposure to loud
music: 58.2 percent of participants exceeded daily sound exposure limits and 51.9
percent exceeded weekly sound exposure limits, suggesting that over half of
college students in the urban environment are at risk for noise-induced hearing loss
(NIHL).
"Some people, especially those using their headphones in a noisy environment, like
a city street or subway, do listen at levels high enough and for durations of time
that pose a risk to hearing," Fligor tells Healthy Hearing. "This is an issue that
won't cause a problem immediately as it takes years to do significant damage, but
once it occurs; this damage is irreversible and sets the stage for poorer hearing at
younger ages than in previous generations. The risk is real and needs to be taken
seriously." Here is another proof why this problem should be taken seriously and
without delay: Another just-released national study shows that one in five teens has
already lost some hearing, and the problem has increased substantially in recent
years.
This finding is based on data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey conducted by a branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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The findings are being published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association.
The researchers analyzed data on 12- to 19-year-olds and compared hearing loss in
nearly 3,000 kids tested from 1988-94 to almost 1,800 kids tested over 2005-06.
The result? The prevalence of hearing loss increased from about 15 percent to 19.5
percent!
Although the researchers did not pinpoint MP3s or iPods as specific culprits, they
believe these audio devices are not totally blameless, especially since another
recent study from Australia linked the use of personal listening devices with a 70
percent increased risk of hearing loss in children.
Given such preponderance of evidence, experts are urging teenagers to turn down
the volume on their digital music players. They warn that even a slight hearing loss
can cause problems in school and require use of hearing aids in later life.
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Ways of losing hearing
The inability to hear generally stems from one of two causes. Conductive hearing
loss occurs when problems in the middle ear prevent it from conducting sound to
the inner ear. A conductive loss can be transient or permanent. The most common
cause of hearing loss in children is Eustachian tube dysfunction, which may affect
up to 30% of children during the winter months. This problem, which all people
may experience in terms of hearing loss associated with a severe head cold, may
lead on to more serious problems such as fluid in the middle ear or the more
serious otitis media, in which a bacterial or viral agent infects the middle ear or the
ear drum. Otitis media may result in perforations of the ear drum as well. The level
of hearing loss associated with this condition is approximately 40dB. More chronic
types of otitis media can result in permanent scarring of the ear drum. Such
scarring reduces the ability of the ear drum to respond to sound and hence the
sound is not conducted well through the ossicular chain to the inner ear. Other
forms of conductive loss can result from damage to the ossicular chain, which in
some cases can ossify (harden into bone). Sensorineural hearing loss, the second
type of deafness, results from damage within or malformation of the cochlea itself,
where the hairs cells are either damaged or destroyed. Injury to the hair cells can
result from excessive noise exposures, chemical damage such as smoking (Nomura
et al, 2004), environmental agents (Rybak, 1992) or medications (Buszman, 2003),
and long term wear and tear from the ageing process, which is referred to as
presbycusis. Hearing loss can also result from damage to the auditory or eighth
nerve that runs from the cochlear to the brain – hence the term sensorineural.
Sensorineural hearing loss is permanent by nature.
The impact of hearing loss in a person’s life depends on the intersection of three
key factors – the time a person acquires their hearing loss, the severity of the
hearing loss, and the communication demands facing the person at their particular
point of the life span. Hearing loss has a very specific impact on children, for
example, who, while representing a very small proportion of the population of
people with hearing loss, require significant support in developing language and
accessing education and employment.
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Survey Comments
I am firmly convinced that teens do not even guess how they risk their health.
Considering recent research suggesting that today's teenagers have worse hearing
than those of generations past – mostly due to exposure to loud music. I decided to
check myself and, to be honest, my younger sister made me do it. She often listens
to music in the car while travelling and has stopped communicating with me. I told
myself to prove her that PLDs are not safe.
In order not to rely on dry facts, I decided to carry out a survey among students in
our school. My classmates helped me in my survey. 370 adolescents-volunteers
(12–18 years of age) in 17 classes in our secondary schools were invited to
complete questionnaires about their music-listening behaviors.
The majority uses earphones as you can see in the bar graph 1 (see appendixes
p.17). And the teens aged 13-14, listen to music the longest time. According to the
bar graph the older young people become the less they listen to the music. (the bar
graph 2 p.17)
To everybody’s surprise all the opponents realize the harmful influence of the
earphones but nobody is going to give up this bad habit. As the majority answers
“NO” to the question if they can avoid using the PLDs. (the bar graphs 3 and 4
p.18)
To sum up, I want to say that, unfortunately, research conducted in our
school indicates that young people disregard all warnings and willingly endanger
their hearing. But the practical goal of our work is to suggest a healthy scheme for
adolescents based on the concept of explanation of music listening behaviour and
preventing hearing loss in teens. For instance, we have created “The educational
and warning video” and have presented it at the theme lectures to students of 7th
forms. We have already started Set of talks for primary school students. One
more thing, we have made leaflets PLDs using Rules for teens and have given
away in school.
We stronly believe to continue our work in these directions.
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How to prevent yourselves from hearing loss
There are some rules:
1. Avoid Excessive Noise
How loud is too loud? If you have to shout over surrounding noise, it's loud
enough to damage your hearing. For example, the sounds from motorcycles, music
players, and power tools like saws and drills are all loud enough to hurt your
hearing over time.
2. Be a Quiet Enforcer
Turn down the ambient noise level in your life by buying appliances and devices
that have low noise ratings. If ambient noise is too loud in a health club, movie
theater, restaurant, or any other place you go often, ask the manager to turn it
down.
3. Limit Exposure to Loud Sounds
Sometimes you can't avoid loud sounds. At those times, it's best to limit the
amount of time you're exposed to them. Noise-induced hearing loss is a result of
the loudness of sounds in addition to the duration of exposure.
4. Wear Hearing Protection
Wear ear protection if you know you're going to be exposed to loud sounds for
more than a few minutes.
5. Don't Smoke
Exposure to tobacco smoke has been linked to increased risk of hearing loss.
Research has shown that smoking, age, and noise exposure can collectively
increase a person's risk for hearing loss. If you smoke, preserving your hearing is
one more good reason to quit. If you don't smoke, avoid breathing secondhand
smoke.
6. Remove Earwax Properly
Waxy buildup in your ears can muffle sound. But don't use a cotton swab to clean
them out. Cotton swabs can push wax even deeper into your ear canal. Instead, use
an at-home irrigation kit to soften wax and gently wash it out of your ear. If wax
has become compacted in your ear, your doctor may need to remove it.
7. Check Medications for Hearing Risks
Some 200 medications are potentially ototoxic, or damaging to hearing. These
include some antibiotics and certain cancer-fighting drugs, among others. Even
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high doses of aspirin can harm your ears. If you take a prescription medication,
check with your doctor to make sure it doesn't pose a threat to your hearing. If you
must take a medication that may be ototoxic, make sure your doctor monitors your
hearing and balance before and during your treatment.
8. Have Your Hearing Tested
If you have some hearing loss, you can prevent further damage by avoiding
exposure to loud noises. If your hearing loss is severe enough, you may benefit
from a hearing aid or other treatment. Be sure to see your doctor if you experience
sudden unexplained change in your hearing. Sudden hearing loss can be a
symptom of other serious medical problems.
What Parents Can Do
Here is what you can do about this problem.
► Educate your child (and yourself) about hearing loss.
► Encourage young music lovers to visit websites where they’ll find «Wish-Ihad-known stories»by famous musicians who lost their hearing.
► Become familiar with the decibel levels that cause damage. Even adults may
not recognize dangerously loud sounds, especially if they already have hearing
loss. To find out which sounds are actually harmful, check out the interactive chart
available from the National Institutes of Deafness.
► Replace bud earphones with the kind that cover the ear and have a
cushion. They may not be as stylish but they are less likely to cause damage. Also,
control exposure by setting limits on how long your child is allowed to use
headphones each day.
► Mark the level of acceptable sound on the volume control with permanent
marker. Kids often don’t realize that sound is too loud.
► Have your child use earplugs. When kids are going to be exposed to loud
sounds, perhaps because they are attending a rock concert, seeing a loud movie or
even cutting the grass, have them wear ear plugs. Although you can find earplugs
at drugstores, sporting good stores and music stores, it’s also worth checking out
the huge assortment of specialized earplugs. When you buy headphones for
young musicians, for example, choose brands of PLDs that reduce harmful sound
without distortion.
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Conclusion
However, research conducted in our school indicates that young people disregard
all warnings and willingly endanger their hearing. But the practical goal of our
work is to suggest a healthy scheme for adolescents based on the concept of
explanation of music listening behaviour and preventing hearing loss in teens.
Teenagers run the risk of serious long-term hearing problems caused by
excessively loud music or other loud noises. But parents are not aware of the risks
and seldom talk to their kids about it, according to the medical studies.
In conclusion, I want to say that it is the right time to take measures NOW to
prevent from hearing loss. Yet there is no generation who could prove any results
of using PLDs. If we do not control the situation, the consequences can be
unpredictable.
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Appendixes
Glossary - Biological terms
1. A tympanum - среднее ухо (представляет собой звукопроводящую
систему, включающую в себя несколько компонентов)
2. A pinna - ушная раковина (внешняя часть уха)
3. An eustachian tube - евстахиева труба (канал, сообщающий полость
среднего уха с глоткой)
4. An eardrum - барабанная перепонка
5. A tympanic cavity - барабанная полость (полость среднего уха у
наземных позвоночных животных и у человека)
6. Auditory ossicles - слуховые косточки (включают молоточек (hammer),
наковальню (anvil) и стремя (stirrup))
Survey
1. What kind of headphones do you use?
2. How often do you listen to music in headphones?
3. How much time a day do you use your headphones?
4. Do you know that the maximum volume of your headphones to 100-200
decibels hurts your ears and causes hearing loss?
5. Do you know that loud music causes more harm than good?
6. Can you avoid using headphones?
7. What music do you like?
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Bar graph 1.
1What kind of PLDs do the teens use?
79%
80%
68%
70%
57%
60%
50%
43%
40%
7-8th
9th
30%
10th
30%
20%
20%
10%
0% 2%
1%
0%
headphones
earplugs
earphones
Bar Graph 2.
2 How many hours do the teens listen via the PLDs?
57%56%
60%
50%
40%
40%
30%
30%
28%
7-8th
30%
9th
19%
20%
10%
14%
6%
0
3%
0
0%
9 hours
5-6 hours
2-3 hours
17
1 hour
10th
Bar graph 3.
5 Do the teens know that loud music causes more harm than good?
100%
90%
80%
70%
7-8th
60%
9th
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
10th
10th
9th
7-8th
YES
Bar graph 4.
6 Can the teens avoid using PLDs?
70.00%
60.00%
50.00%
7-8th
40.00%
9th
10th
30.00%
10th
20.00%
9th
10.00%
7-8th
0.00%
NO
18
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f
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