Week 4, Fall 2007

This week I saw several clients enrolled in the hearing conservation program. Otoscopy and tympanometry were normal bilaterally for all clients. Two clients had puretone thresholds within normal limits as well as normal SRTs bilaterally. One client had a mild to moderate high frequency hearing loss beginning at 3000 Hz and normal SRTs bilaterally. All clients had puretone air conduction thresholds that were consistent with last year's findings.

Following explanation of results, I remind clients to continue using hearing protection when they are exposed to noisy environments. For the most part, the clients that I have seen, seem to follow the recommendations given from the clinicians at our clinic. Reviewing clients audiograms and OAE results from previous years and noting minimal changes in my patients leads me to believe that the clients enrolled in the hearing protection program not only understand our recommendations but also follow them. However, these patients are all adults. In contrast, I sometimes wonder ... how would children respond to a hearing protection program?

The following article examined the efficacy of an interactive hearing protection program used with elementary school-aged children (Chermak, Curtis, & Seikel, 1996). The study enrolled 48 fourth-graders in a hearing protection program. The children were given instruction in the normal function of the ear, risks of noise, and prevention of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) for one hour each week for a total of two weeks. The investigator in the study showed the children a videotape about the anatomy & physiology of the ear; sources & intensity levels of common noises; causes of hearing loss; hearing conservation methods; and hearing aid use. The video and oral instruction was coupled with interactive activities. For example, the children were asked to act out the physiological process of the transmission of sound through the outer, middle, and inner ear. Children were also permitted to perform hearing screenings on each other using a portable audiometer and were encouraged to ask the investigator questions about hearing and hearing loss. Following the hearing protection sessions, teachers were encouraged to use suggested supplement activities to broaden students' knowlegdge about hearing and hearing protection.

Prior to and following instruction in hearing conservation, the children were given an 8-item questionnaire about hearing & hearing loss and a 10-item questionnaire about noise exposure & hearing conservation. In the 8-item questionnaire, children were given both test question, which assessed children's knowledge about situations that would require hearing protection, and control questions, which assessed children's knowledge about situations that would not necessitate using hearing protection.

The investigators found that, following the hearing protection program, children increased their knowledge in all areas of assessment. Furthermore those students whose teachers provided supplemental activites, improved their post-test scores by even greater margins. The greatest improvement following the hearing protection program was found in the children's intended use of hearing protection secondary to increased knowledge about NIHL. In fact, when children were given supplemental activities, their knowledge of NIHL improved nearly 50% while those who did not receive supplement instruction still improved 35%.

In summary, this program proved to be extremely effective in increasing chilren's knowledge about the dangers of noisy toys and activites. Due to increased use of iPods, video games, and other noisy toys since the completion of this study, it's important for us to remember that hearing conservation is important for children as well as adults.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=c8h&AN=1996008260&site=ehost-live

Check out the supplemental activities & survey questions ... they're great resources if anyone else is interested in pediatric audiology. :-)

Also, you all might recognize a couple of the authors cited in the article.