Los Angeles — The House Ear Institute is launching a national online teen hearing loss prevention campaign for its educational initiative "It’s How You Listen That Counts®".

"It’s How You Listen That Counts" is a consumer awareness campaign launched by House Ear Institute in 2006. It targets teens with a hearing conservation message that compels them to practice smart listening habits in their enjoyment of music and other audio.

The new online campaign will direct teens to engaging and educational content on its redesigned Earbud.org website at www.earbud.org. The new site provides easier access to news, events, multimedia content as well as interactive fact sheets, quizzes, hearing loss simulators and a virtual hearing conservation workshop.

"Teenagers are known to be a challenging audience to reach regarding health issues. We believe it is important to encourage teens to want to seek out this health information on their own and share it with their friends," explained Marilee Potthoff, director of community outreach and education, House Ear Institute, in a pres release.

The Institute is engaging teens using a variety of social media, search engines and Internet radio outlets, as well as email blasts to teen subscribers of videogame and scholastic service newsletters.

The Teacher’s Toolbox, available at www.earbud.org, provides middle and high school instructors with downloadable classroom materials, which allows them to present hearing loss prevention curriculum to their students.

Although the message of hearing health is a natural fit for science and health teachers, the Institute believes that the message should also be included in music, band, choir and orchestra, and that teachers need to incorporate hearing loss prevention programs into student rehearsals and performances.

For schools in Southern California, the institute offers in-school workshops. Contact Marilee Potthoff at [email protected] for more information.

The national campaign is funded with grants from UniHealth Foundation and the Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation

SOURCE: The House Ear Institute