HEARING LOSS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, MONTGOMERY COUNTY CHAPTER NEWSLETTER
OCTOBER 2012
Montco Chapter Officers:
President
: Patty Cortez, email:
pattypeep@gmail.com phone: 610-446-7302 Vice-President: Tom VanArman; email: tcvanarman@gmail.com
Treasurer
: Donna Penman Assistive Technology: Don Groff
Newsletter committee
: Tom Van Arman, email:
& Don Groff
Meeting Schedule: 1st Monday of each Month, except January, February, July, August & September: (September is 2nd Monday) William Jeanes Library, 4051 Joshua Road, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444 Meeting Time: 6:00-7:45 p.m.
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NY Times Reports on Restaurants Exceeding OSHA Noise Regulations
The New York Times has published an in-depth article about the trend for urban shops, restaurants, and clubs to pipe in music that is over 90 decibels. The reason for the loud music is that owners subscribe to research that suggests that loud music attracts younger patrons who drink more than those in quieter settings. While profitable, there may be a cost to the hearing health of workers.
As hearing professionals are aware, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to provide hearing protection and free hearing exams for environments that exceed 85 decibels for 8 hours; workers are required to wear the hearing protection if the level exceeds 90 decibels.
According to acoustic tests conducted by the Times, several popular restaurants and clubs were recorded in the high 80s and 90-decibel levels. Owners interviewed indicated that they were unaware that they were breaking OSHA standards, and according to the Times, no restaurant or club has ever been fined for violating OSHA noise standards.
The reason for the loud music trend is based on research that indicates it brings in younger patrons who typically spend more for alcohol. Moreover, the research indicates that loud music caused patrons to eat and drink at a faster pace, which caused them to order more drinks, yet not linger at the tables, allowing for more turnover.
If the trend continues and the Times report makes OSHA, patrons, and owners aware of the potential hearing damage, perhaps restaurants and clubs will begin serving earplugs with that plate of Tapas.
Hey, look!
There’s a handy web site for the deaf and hard of hearing. Want to look up old newsletters and particulars? This is the place to go for references to hearing issues.
This is a most useful site. Give this one a good looking over the next time you surf the internet.
I was quite apprehensive when I got a summons for jury duty and even more so when I had to fill out a 25-page (legal size) questionnaire. I could tell from the wording that the case would be a “doozie”.
One question was, “Are there any reasons you feel that you cannot serve on a jury?” Well, I thought a while and wrote, “Partial hearing loss at some frequencies.”
Well, I made it through the first three cuts and was getting even more apprehensive. The fourth cut required each person to be interviewed in the court room. The attorney for the state questioned me for about five minutes. Then, the defense attorney questioned me. About five minutes into the questioning, he said, “I see you have hearing loss at some frequencies. May I ask what frequencies?”
Well, not knowing how to reply to that, I thought a minute and replied, “My Wife’s.”
The attorney for the state started laughing and then her chair tipped over. The courtroom decorum broke down in a hurry led by the Judge’s laughter. The defense attorney got flustered and finally dismissed me from jury duty. I’ve never told my wife of this incident!
Mike Taylor,
CaptionCall newsletter September 2012
Quick Statistics
Compiled by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).
About 2 to 3 out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. Nine out of every 10 children who are born deaf are born to parents who can hear.
The NIDCD estimates that approximately 15 percent (26 million) of Americans between the ages of 20 and 69 have high frequency hearing loss due to exposure to loud sounds or noise at work or in leisure activities.
Only 1 out of 5 people who could benefit from a hearing aid actually wears one.
Next Meeting: The next meeting will be held October 1st 2012 beginning at 6 P.M. at the William Jeanes Library. Highlighting this meeting will be a Powerpoint Presentation. The title of the presentation is:
Suggestions on Getting Help When Needed
Presented by Mary Gillford, Community Health Educator, Bryn Mawr Hospital/Main Line Health.
This is a time honored topic we all can use help in. Let’s find help at this presentation!
HLAA - Montgomery County Chapter 