Non-auditory Effects of Lower-level Environmental Noise
Does lower-level noise play a factor in long-term health consequences?
Does lower-level noise play a factor in long-term health consequences?
It is rare to have a column about a review of an article—especially an article from almost 40 years ago—but the 1983 publication by Skinner and Miller is a must-read (or must re-read) article. It describes the work primarily done by Margaret (Margo) Skinner in her PhD thesis.
Like all healthcare fields where the clinician needs to explain complex concepts to the lay public, metaphors are used. In the optical field, “nearsighted” and “farsighted” are actually good metaphors despite their simplicity and academic inaccuracy. In the field of audiology, we have the description of the audiogram with the piano keyboard across the top; a good explanation, but limited in that it’s only the right hand side of the keyboard and musical notes are not pure-tones.
It is almost as if music has something in common with everything: psychology, physiology, acoustics, engineering, most areas of the arts, and now, the lowly spondee.
Read MoreI receive many questions from instrumental musicians, vocalists, and performing artists about issues relating to how they should practice. A particularly common question is “How can I modify a room in my house so that my vocal practice doesn’t drive my dog crazy?”
Read MoreIt is conceivable that the modern digitization process reduces the extraneous hearing aid (microphone) noise too much and a clinical strategy would be to reprogram the hearing aid with minimal expansion implemented in the hearing aid software.
Read MoreAs the name suggests, temporary threshold shift (TTS) is a temporary loss in sensitivity to certain sounds following an exposure to a loud noise or music. Marshall Chasin, AuD, explains how our thinking about TTS has changed over the years.
Read MoreThe issue is that in perception we rarely need to hear the exact frequency (or frequency spectrum) of speech or of music. However, we do need to hear the relative differences in spectral cues.
Read MoreVerification of a hearing aid (or hearing protection) fitting is an obvious usage, but it can be quite instructive about some general acoustic principles.
Read MoreSince the beginning of my audiology career I have heard many of my hard-of-hearing patients comment that at around 3 PM they hit the wall and need a nap.
Read MoreWell so much for Audiology 101. This also brings up an interesting potential explanation about why some people don’t like to use noise-canceling headphones.
Read MorePerhaps the most well-read article of 2017 is “The effects of service-delivery model and purchase price on hearing-aid outcomes in older adults: a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled clinical trial” by Larry Humes and his colleagues at Indiana State University, published in the March 2017 edition of the American Journal of Audiology. Drs Marshall Chasin and Steve Aiken provide their perspectives on this important research.
Read MoreIn the past several years the hearing aid industry has introduced some ingenious solutions to handling the “music and hearing aids” problem. Simply stated, the higher level inputs of music tend to overdrive the analog-to-digital (A/D) converter or “front end” in many hearing aids. Dr Chasin discusses some possible solutions for music listening.
Read MoreElectronic hearing protection is useful for hunters, military personnel, and musicians, says Marshall Chasin, AuD. They look and act like hearing aids, and technically (though not in some jurisdictions), they are hearing aids.
Read MoreHow important is the wired earphone jack on a smartphone? Dr Chasin finds that current wireless earphones don’t protect our ears from excessive sound levels as many wired earphones do, and hopes wireless earphone technology catches up to smartphones soon.
Read MoreWhat physical parameters constitute a good sounding musical venue? To find the answer, Dr Chasin refers back to Wallace Clement Sabine (1868-1919) — a physicist and Harvard Professor who was arguably the most famous name in architectural acoustics.
Read MoreMarshall Chasin, AuD, discusses the Minimal Audible Field (MAF), or the softest sound that normal-hearing people can hear in the normal diffuse sound field at 1000 Hz, and explains why sometimes less is more.
Read MoreDr Chasin explains Boyle’s Law, and why hard-of-hearing audiophiles or musicians who wish to program their own hearing aids, should also make an appointment with their audiologist to ensure that their programming doesn’t damage their hearing.
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