Dangerous Decibels
Reported March 2008
PORTLAND, Ore. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Do you know how loud that music is your child is listening to? You probably don't and you probably don't know it could be loud enough to permanently damage their hearing. But one young woman is getting her peers to listen to her message about dangerous decibels.
With the generation that's plugged-in 24/7 a parent might never have to yell, "Turn that music down!" The Centers for Disease Control report a growing number of children, nearly 13 percent, have noise-induced hearing loss.
Hearing experts say 85 decibels is safe -- which is the sound of busy city traffic -- but too many teens are turning up the volume. When college sophomore Genna Martin realized the potential perils of personal music players, she decided to do something about it. She created "Jolene" -- donning the electronic mannequin with a blue wig, shades and leather.
"I thought it was a cool idea and a good way to attract attention," says Martin.
Jolene's equipped with a microphone in her ear and attached to her is a sound meter. Genna invites kids to hook up their IPod's and get a decibel reading. Then Genna tells them if that volume level is safe or not … "ninety-nine."
At that decibel level, nineteen-year-old Rachel Caldwell-Powell can safely listen for only fifteen minutes. "I think I'll be more conscious of it," says Caldwell-Powell.
Still for some, volume is as important as lyrics. "It's nice to have the level up there. You're getting all the nuances of the music," says nineteen-year old Daniel Creamer.
But Genna Martin has a warning for those in her generation who crank it up. "If you listen to it this loud now, by the time you're forty you won't be able to hear it anymore," says Martin.
And it's tough to tuck earbuds in your ears, if they're already fitted with hearing aids. One good rule of thumb -- if you can hear sound leaking out the earbuds, the volume is probably too high to be safe.
The Acoustical Society of America contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.
Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:
Genna Martin
Portland, Oregon
(503) 913-8705
h2opololoco@integrity.com
Acoustical Society of America
Melville, NY 11747-4502
(516) 576-2360
http://asa.aip.org
asa@aip.org
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