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Parents, Take Control of Noisy Toys

The December holiday season is long gone, but the war zone of a playroom in my house serves as a reminder of all the gifts the grandparents so happily shared with our children. During the end of last year, the organization Deafness Research UK released the results of a study by Dr. Brad Backus of UCL’s Ear Institute in London. The study investigated the potential hazards that certain toys might pose to children. According to the researchers, “Children's toys clearly have the potential to do harm to their hearing so it's important that people are aware of the dangers and what to do about them. With most toys, your child will only damage their hearing if they use them too often and for too long a duration, or if they stick them in their ear.”

This is not new information, but it re-educates parents at a critical time of the year when they are filling their carts with gifts. I’ve always questioned the possibility of dangerous sound levels from several of my sons’ favorite toys. My wife and I have also spent time (on a regular basis) reminding them to not put certain louder toys close to their ears. We’ve even gone as far as taking certain "acoustic offenders" away for concern of potential harm. But it wasn’t until recently I decided to pull out a simple sound level meter from Radio Shack to see what some of the toys were capable of.

One of the favorite toys in the house is a Sesame Street toy. When buttons are pushed, a character pops up and a quick song is played from a small speaker. At a distance of approximately 12 inches (the distance of “normal” play for an infant), a level of 86 dBA was noted on repeated measures. A distance of 1 inch (holding the toy directly near the ear), a level of 103 dBA was recorded.

Another toy I decided to measure is a battery-powered figure eight race track from the movie “Cars”. At a distance of 12 inches, the sound level was on the order of 84 dBA. Closer, 88 dBA. Any time a sound exposure reaches a level of 85 dBA, there is potential for hearing damage. Keep in mind, a level of 85 dBA is considered safe for a duration of time longer than most children will play with the offending toys. But, a level of 103 dBA has the potential to cause hearing damage in a very short period of time. These measures were not performed in a laboratory, or with a highly calibrated sound level meter but this small experiment did serve to illustrate the potential of certain toys found in most toy rooms.

ASHA, the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association, offers the following guidelines: Prior to purchasing a new toy, parents should listen to the toy. If it sounds too loud, it should not be purchased. Toys already at home should also be examined. Batteries can be removed or toys discarded if they are too noisy and pose a potential danger to hearing.

Upcoming Event! National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences/ NY

Dr. Kasper will be the invited speaker for one in a series of health-related presentations for the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The presentation will take place in New York City on Wednesday, April 4, 2007. Please follow this link for details and registration information.

Overview of the presentation:

On-air personalities, musicians and others in the performing arts and media industries depend on their sense of hearing to earn a living. If the health of their ears were jeopardized in any way, it would negatively impact the manner in which they perform their daily work responsibilities. Ultimately, a livelihood is at risk. Dr. Craig Kasper is a hearing healthcare specialist who has worked closely with those in the music and media industries for over ten years. He has guided professionals exposed to occupational hearing health hazards in the preservation their most vital instruments, their ears. Dr. Kasper will provide attendees with a broad overview of key hearing health issues, the auditory risks they might face and offer simple steps to safeguard hearing sensitivity. The discussion will also include a brief introduction to some of the latest custom in-ear devices for protection, monitoring and communication.

Mail-Order Hearing Instruments Revisited

In 1999, my colleagues and I at New York Presbyterian Hospital evaluated an interesting patient. So interesting, in fact, that it resulted in a case study published in The Hearing Journal. The paper, titled “Mail-Order Hearing Aids and Patient Safety: A Case Study”, was based on a patient with long-standing history of hearing loss.

For financial considerations, she decided to purchase a hearing instrument through mail order instead of relying on the services of her local hearing healthcare provider. Ultimately she sustained a perforated eardrum and infection due to a piece of the device that became dislodged in her ear. Our conclusion was that “no avenue exist(ed) to ensure either patient safety or satisfaction in the generic device, mail-order approach”. The case study clearly demonstrated “that unregulated sale of mail-order hearing aids may endanger potential users”.

Suffering From “Bluetooth Discomfort and Ejection Disorder”?

Not all ears are made the same. So it should be no surprise that the generic earbud that comes standard with most Bluetooth devices for mobile phones simply does not fit into the majority of ears. Some devices offer an over-the-ear “retention hook” but for many users this simply does not provide a solution to the discomfort caused by the earbud. In addition, the sheer size of the bud does not allow for proper insertion and the device ultimately falls out. One solution is to have a custom earpiece molded which will couple your ear to the Bluetooth device. For about $50 and a short visit with your hearing healthcare provider you can achieve a perfect fit and better sound quality. Bluetooth users rejoice and say “goodbye” to mobile communication frustration.

Note: For more information about the company that manufactured the earmold seen above, visit Westone Labs.

Carnegie Hall Raises Awareness for Hearing Loss

NEW YORK, New York (Associated Press) Verena Dobnik How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Listen, listen, listen. That twist on the old cliche described an unusual happening Saturday in Manhattan: A mobile van parked by the famed hall offered free hearing tests to raise awareness of hearing loss among both young and old worldwide. ``The center of New York City happens to be one of the noisiest places on the planet,'' said Craig Kasper, a hearing expert. He added that among those at highest risk for hearing loss are ``Gen Xers and baby boomers with MP3 players in their ears.'' The van was sponsored by the Hear the World, a global initiative on hearing loss. Dozens of people who stopped by Saturday morning also received literature on how to prevent hearing loss. ``I'm 53, and I've never had my hearing tested as an adult,'' Rose Artis said after coming out of the van at the side of Carnegie Hall. She added: ``I feel better now,'' she added. ``My daughter's always saying, 'Can you hear me?' Now I can go home and tell her, 'They told me I have perfect hearing!''' Artis, who does cleaning work for city schools, said she also got a tip from the audiologist who tested her: ``I don't need to dig into my ears when I clean them with Q-Tips, making them all red.'' The Vienna Philharmonic, which was due to play a concert at Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, helped launch Hear the World along with tenor Placido Domingo last fall. The initiative has provided the latest hearing-aid technology to those in need, especially in developing countries. The nonprofit Hear the World Foundation, based in Zurich, Switzerland, is sponsored by the Swiss company Phonak, a leading high-tech hearing device manufacturer. In the past months, Hear the World has delivered hearing aids to poor children in the Guatemalan jungle and tested youngsters in remote parts of the island of Fiji. An estimated 500 million people worldwide suffer from some form of hearing loss, including more than 31 million in the United States, said Kasper, an international expert in audiology. Because of the rising decibel level in daily life, today's youth have a rate of impaired hearing 2.5 times that of their elders, according to the foundation. ``It's not just a disorder of getting old,'' Kasper said, noting that 65 percent of hearing-impaired Americans are under 65. Factors contributing to hearing damage include genetics, various illnesses and viruses, plus ordinary noise-producing sources like leaf blowers, lawn mowers and subway trains. ``If it's loud enough and goes on for long enough, even things that might seem relatively benign _ like a hair dryer or a child's noisy toy _ could cause damage,'' said Kasper, who serves as an independent, unpaid expert for educational efforts including Hear the World. Kasper said that even a slight hearing loss may hurt a child's ability to learn in a classroom, or an adult's productivity at work, impacting income levels. These days, the solution to hearing loss comes from technology ``that is light years better than what we had two years ago,'' Kasper said. ``The stigma of hearing aids is fading, and we have everything from almost invisible hearing devices to sound-isolating earphones that are custom-molded to reduce outside noise.''