An official website of the United States government
Announcement: National Protect Your Hearing Month — October 2016
Weekly / October 7, 2016 / 65(39);1087
October is National Protect Your Hearing Month, a time to raise awareness about the causes and prevention of noise-induced hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss results from sounds in the environment that are too loud and can damage sensitive structures in the inner ear, even with a brief exposure. This type of hearing loss can result from occupational noise exposures, leisure activities such as sporting events or concerts, or use of personal listening devices. Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent and cannot be reversed (1).
Noise-induced hearing loss affects persons of all ages. During 2001–2008, one in five Americans aged ≥12 years, an estimated 48 million persons, had hearing loss in at least one ear, and approximately one in eight (almost 30 million persons) had hearing loss in both ears (2). Nearly half of all persons aged 12–35 years in middle- and high-income countries are exposed to unsafe levels of sound from personal listening devices; approximately 40% are exposed to potentially damaging sound levels at clubs, discotheques, and bars (3).
The prevalence of hearing loss in the United States is expected to increase as the population ages (2), and the cumulative impact of hearing impairment becomes more pronounced among older adults (2,4). Untreated hearing loss is associated with higher risks for social isolation, depression, dementia, falls with injury, and inability to work, travel, or be physically active (4). CDC and other agencies and organizations are focused on the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss, both within the work setting and other environments.
Additional Information to increase awareness about noise-induced hearing loss and promote hearing loss prevention is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/default.html; http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/; and http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/hearingloss/index.html.
References
- National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Criteria for a recommended standard: occupational noise exposure. Publication No. 98–126. Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; 1998. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/98-126/
- Lin FR, Niparko JK, Ferrucci L. Hearing loss prevalence in the United States. Arch Intern Med 2011;171:1851–2. CrossRef PubMed
- World Health Organization. Hearing loss due to recreational exposure to loud sounds: a review. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2015. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/154589/1/9789241508513_eng.pdf
- President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Aging, America, and hearing loss: imperative of improved hearing technologies. Washington, DC: Office of the President, President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology; 2015. https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_hearing_tech_letterreport_final.pdf
Suggested citation for this article: Announcement: National Protect Your Hearing Month — October 2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:1087. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6539a7.
MMWR and Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report are service marks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Use of trade names and commercial sources is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services.
References to non-CDC sites on the Internet are
provided as a service to MMWR readers and do not constitute or imply
endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. CDC is not responsible for the content
of pages found at these sites. URL addresses listed in MMWR were current as of
the date of publication.
All HTML versions of MMWR articles are generated from final proofs through an automated process. This conversion might result in character translation or format errors in the HTML version. Users are referred to the electronic PDF version (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr) and/or the original MMWR paper copy for printable versions of official text, figures, and tables.
Questions or messages regarding errors in formatting should be addressed to mmwrq@cdc.gov.