Background: During live concerts attendees are exposed to excessive high intensity sounds for durations considered dangerous to the auditory system. Thus, regular live music concert attendees are at risk for developing Music Induced Hearing Loss (MIHL) due to their recreational habits. Although MIHL is preventable, current hearing conservation is limited at live music venues. As personal hearing protection is poor within this community, a need for alternative hearing conservation strategies is evident. Method: The objectives of this multi-method quantitative research study was to determine whether venue-based hearing conservation strategies in live music venues are a plausible means of reducing the risk of music induced hearing loss. Four live rock and heavy metal music venues in Johannesburg (South Africa) were included in the study. The current venuebased hearing conservation strategies as well as the acoustic and structural characteristics of these venues are described. In addition, the Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) were measured throughout the venues. The variance of the mean SPLs between different areas within these venues were then calculated and effects of the structural characteristics on the variance of the sound levels within the venues were determined. Results: The results indicated that hearing conservation including awareness programs and availability of Hearing Protection Devices (HPDs) are not currently occurring in the music venues. Music venues further do not comply with the OHSA (2003) regulations nor are they compliant in terms of the acoustic and structural recommendations for reducing the intensity levels in music venues. Statistical analysis indicated at least one pair of significant differences in the mean SPLs recorded in the different areas in each venue. Results further indicated trends in the variance of intensity levels between different areas confirming a positive relationship between each of these five trends and the variance of sound levels. Thus, this study indicates that venue-based hearing conservation strategies may be a plausible means for reducing the risk for MIHL in attendees at live music venues. Implications: Implications of this study are discussed in relation to clinical and practice guidelines for both audiologists, and occupational health personnel, whilst the need for changes in legislation are highlighted.

This lecture takes a dual-targeted approach in: 1) acquainting the audience with newer neuroimaging techniques applied to the consequences of vestibular dysregulation following noise or blast-induced mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI); and 2) considers treatment and rehabilitation modalities of vestibular and balance dysfunction in order to help veteran’s resume normal activities-of-daily-living. Relevant examples from each targeted lecture will be provided. Intended Audience: Professionals interested in the area of vestibular and balance assessment, neuroimaging, and rehabilitation.

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No description available.

Two of the primary occupational health threats to employees in the mining industry are noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) and occupational lung diseases (OLD) with Tuberculosis (TB) included in the latter. The objective of this study was to investigate the hearing profile of a group of gold miners with and without TB to determine the effect of TB and its associated risk profile on hearing. Workers in AngloGold Ashanti mine in South Africa were recruited due to the fact that they present with these two health threats namely NIHL and TB. The audiological and medical surveillance data of 2698 subjects (between the years 2001 and 2009) were used in analyses. Hearing thresholds for the air conduction frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 KHz) in both ears were analysed in conjunction with biographic and occupational data. Subjects were divided into three groups, two experimental groups (Single TB treatment, n= 911 and Multiple TB treatment, n= 376) and one control group (n= 1411). A highly significant difference (p<0.01) was noted between the control group and both TB treatment groups across most frequencies and hearing parameters analysed, although the higher frequencies were more affected. Pair wise comparisons revealed the largest differences in hearing thresholds throughout between the control group and the multiple TB treatment groups. The smallest differences in hearing thresholds were evident between the two TB groups with the multiple TB treatment group presenting with the poorest thresholds. TB and its related risk profile had a pronounced influence on the decline of hearing thresholds. Thresholds for the multiple TB treatment group indicated more deterioration than the hearing thresholds of the single TB treatment group. This may point to the possibility that the influence of repeated TB on the subjects’ hearing thresholds over time was more pronounced than a single incidence of TB. It is still necessary however to separate the effects of the disease from the effects of the treatment on hearing. / Dissertation (MCommunication Pathology)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / Unrestricted

Der Risikofaktor Lärm stellt vor allem in urbanen Gebieten ein großes Umweltproblem mit teilweise erheblichen gesundheitlichen Langzeitauswirkungen für die Stadtbevölkerung dar. Dabei hängt die Ausbreitung des Schalls von einer Störquelle, wie z.B. dem Straßenverkehr, besonders auf größeren Strecken von der Atmosphärenstruktur ab. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit bestand darin, den Einfluss der tageszeitlich variierenden urbanen Grenzschicht auf die Schallausbreitung unter Verwendung eines Schallstrahlenmodells abzuschätzen. Basis dieser Berechnungen bildeten analytisch erzeugte urbane Vertikalprofile der Temperatur, Windgeschwindigkeit und Windrichtung. Die Auswertungen der Karten der meteorologisch bedingten Zusatzdämpfung zeigten eine sichtbare zusätzliche Beeinflussung der Schallausbreitung durch die spezielle Struktur der urbanen Grenzschicht. Besonders im Nahbereich der Quelle traten nachts in Windrichtung bei labiler Atmosphärenschichtung Zonen erhöhter Lärmbelastung auf. / Especially in urban regions the risk factor noise is a huge problem, which may have a notable impact on (human) health on long-time scales. The sound propagation of a disturbing source, e.g. traffic noise, depends for larger distances in particular on the structure of the atmosphere. The aim of this study was to estimate the influence of the urban boundary layer on the propagation of sound using a sound ray model. Therefore, urban vertical profiles of temperature, wind speed, and wind direction for day and night time conditions were calculated analytically. The resulting maps considering excess attenuation of sound due to meteorology yielded an additional influence on the sound propagation in consequence of the defined structure of the urban boundary layer. Particularly in downwind areas close to the source the impact of noise increases regionally at night for the cases of unstable atmospheric layering.

Lärm ist ein nach wie vor ungelöstes Umweltproblem. Die wichtigste Lärmquelle in urbanen Räumen ist der Straßenverkehrslärm, der gesundheitsschädliche Langzeitwirkungen haben kann. Die Ausbreitung von Schallwellen bis zum Immissionsort wird, besonders bei längeren Entfernungen, durch die Atmosphärenstruktur beeinflusst. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, diesen Atmosphäreneinfluss auf die Schallausbreitung mit Hilfe von Messungen an Autobahnen in der Nähe von Chemnitz abzuschätzen. Mit je zwei Messstellen in 25 m und 150 m Entfernung von der Autobahn wurde der Effekt der Atmosphärenschichtung und des Windprofils auf die Schallimmission frequenzaufgelöst untersucht. Die Resultate dieser Studie zeigen eine deutliche Variation des über 60 Minuten gemittelten Schalldruckpegels, die auf die unterschiedliche Atmosphärenstruktur zurückgeführt werden kann. Die Messungen ergaben dabei bis zu 5 dB höhere bzw. 11 dB geringere Schallpegel als Ergebnisse von Berechnungen mit Ingenieurmodellen, die den Atmosphäreneinfluss nur sehr vereinfacht enthalten. Es wird außerdem aufgezeigt, wie die Wirkung von Schallschutzbauten an Autobahnen insbesondere durch den Windeinfluss verändert wird. / Noise is still an unsolved environmental problem. Street noise, that will able to cause long-term effects on the state of health, is the main source of noise in urban areas. The sound propagation is influenced by the atmospheric structure, especially for longer distances. This study is aimed at the estimation of the atmospheric influence onto the sound propagation by using measurements at highways near Chemnitz. Two measurement places in distances of 25 m and 150 m from the highway were used to study the effect of atmospheric stability and wind profile on the frequency-resolved sound level. A variation of the averaged (60 minutes) sound level dependent on the atmospheric structure is clearly visible in the results. The measurements yielded up to 5 dB higher and 11 dB lower sound levels in comparison to results of engineering models which contain the atmospheric influence only in a simplified way. Furthermore, the study shows how the impact of noise screens is changed dependent on the wind influence.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an atypical pattern of early acoustic stimulation on auditory development. Previous human research suggests that the acoustic environment of pre-term human infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) negatively affects some aspects of auditory development. Animal research suggests that premature auditory stimulation interrupts auditory development. Because mice are born before their auditory systems are developed, they make an excellent model for research on fetal and postnatal plasticity of the auditory system. The premature auditory state of newborn mice is similar to that of the NICU pre-term infant, albeit, natural for mice C57 mouse pups were exposed to an augmented acoustic environment (AAE) of a nightly 12-hour regiment of 70 dB SPL noise burst, beginning before age 12 days (onset of hearing) and lasting for one month. The prepulse inhibition (PPI) of mice exposed to the AAE was compared to that of non-exposed mice to observe short-term and long-term effects. Results showed that the prepulse inhibition of the AAE exposed mice did not differ significantly from that of the non-exposed mice. However, it is possible that the measurement used, PPI, may not have been appropriate or that the AAE may not have been an appropriate simulation of the NICU environment.

The article investigates how socioeconomic background affects noise annoyance caused by residential road traffic in urban areas. It is argued that the effects of socioeconomic variables (migration background, education, and income) on noise annoyance tend to be underestimated because these effects are mainly indirect. We specify three indirect pathways. (1) A “noise exposure path” assumes that less privileged households are exposed to a higher level of noise and therefore experience stronger annoyance. (2) A “housing attributes path” argues that less privileged households can shield themselves less effectively from noise due to unfavorable housing conditions and that this contributes to annoyance. (3) Conversely, an “environmental susceptibility path” proposes that less privileged people are less concerned about the environment and have a lower noise sensitivity, and that this reduces their noise annoyance. Our analyses rest on a study carried out in four European cities (Mainz and Hanover in Germany, Bern and Zurich in Switzerland), and the results support the empirical validity of the three indirect pathways.

The article investigates how socioeconomic background affects noise annoyance caused by residential road traffic in urban areas. It is argued that the effects of socioeconomic variables (migration background, education, and income) on noise annoyance tend to be underestimated because these effects are mainly indirect. We specify three indirect pathways. (1) A “noise exposure path” assumes that less privileged households are exposed to a higher level of noise and therefore experience stronger annoyance. (2) A “housing attributes path” argues that less privileged households can shield themselves less effectively from noise due to unfavorable housing conditions and that this contributes to annoyance. (3) Conversely, an “environmental susceptibility path” proposes that less privileged people are less concerned about the environment and have a lower noise sensitivity, and that this reduces their noise annoyance. Our analyses rest on a study carried out in four European cities (Mainz and Hanover in Germany, Bern and Zurich in Switzerland), and the results support the empirical validity of the three indirect pathways.