E-Newsletter

Inaugural United Kingdom (UK) Hearing Conservation Association Conference

Posted: April 13, 2022

The first conference of the UK Hearing Conservation Association, Listen Up, will be held November 3, 2022, in Manchester, England. Listen Up will focus on noise-induced and sound-induced harm prevention, looking beyond the workplace. Speakers currently include Chris Steel, Peter Wilson, Samuel Couth, Christopher J. Plack, Andrea Harman, and Vanessa Champion. Full details are online at: https://fitwise.eventsair.com/ukhca2022

Seeking NHCA Professional Service Provider (PSP) Delegate

Posted: April 13, 2022

https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2021/04/08/mobile-screening/

The National Hearing Conservation Association is seeking a volunteer interested in serving as the PSP Delegate to the NHCA Executive Council. The PSP Delegate represents those NHCA members who provide professional hearing conservation services – most often for compliance with the Hearing Conservation Amendment to the OSHA Noise Standard (29 CFR 1910.95) and the OSHA Recordkeeping Standard (29 CFR 1904.10). The PSP Delegate serves on the Membership Services Council with the two Member Delegates, a Commercial Delegate, an Associate Delegate, and a Student Delegate. Any NHCA voting member who is interested should contact Richard Stepkin, Director of Membership, [email protected].

Regular NHCA "Listen Up" Column in the Industrial Hygiene in the Workplace (IHW) Magazine

Posted: April 13, 2022

Every two months, NHCA experts contribute a short article to the IHW Magazine. It is a great opportunity to share our expertise, provide important guidance, and advertise our fantastic organization. The latest issue was just published, including the NHCA article titled "Changing Workers' Attitudes About Hearing Protection" by Ted Madison (see https://industrialhygienepub.com/digital-edition/, March/April issue, page 31). Future and past IHW magazine issues can also be viewed here. We'll alert you the next time one of our NHCA experts contributes an article. If you contribute articles to peer-reviewed or other publications as an NHCA member, please tell us at: [email protected].

Hearing Research – Current Insights

Posted: April 13, 2022

• UK Biobank (https://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/) contains genetic and health information for half a million participants. Hao and colleagues at Jinan University conducted a longitudinal cohort study of 342,566 cardiovascular disease-free (CVD-free) participants from the UK Biobank, to explore associations of road traffic noise exposure with CVD risk and mortality, all-cause mortality, and stroke risk. The team found that, in men but not in women, high road traffic noise exposure was significantly associated with increased risk of CVD mortality, stroke risk, and all-cause mortality.

Suhanek, M., Djurek, I., and Petosic, A. A Case Study: The Urban Residents’ Choice for Electric Vehicles Warning Sounds. American Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering, Special Issue: Smart Cities – Innovative Approaches. 3(3), 47-51. https://www.academia.edu/49898287/A_Case_Study_The_Urban_Residents_Choice_for_Electric_Vehicles_Warning_Sounds

• What is the best sound to alert pedestrians of the presence, location, and movement of electric, often silent, vehicles? Acoustic Vehicle Alerting Systems (ACAS) are currently studied around the globe. This team researched pedestrian preferences for vehicle warning sounds. Preferred sounds included the sound of an internal combustion engine, modulated noise, music, and a non-combustion engine, electrical motor sound. No one preferred the sound a vehicle makes to warn that a seatbelt is not being worn. This short study (n=201) adds to a growing body of research on which sound(s), at what intensity and duration, are best for both sighted and visually-impaired or blind pedestrians, to travel safely in the presence of electric vehicles and related technologies.

To learn more:

https://acousticstoday.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Electric-Vehicles-Get-Alert-Signals-to-be-Heard-by-Pedestrians-Benefits-and-Drawbacks-Andre%CC%81-Fiebig.pdf

https://www.bksv.com/en/knowledge/blog/sound/electric-vehicles

Sound Postcard

Posted: April 13, 2022

A fabric that “hears” your heart's sounds Jennifer Chu, MIT News Office, March 16, 2022

Courtesy of the Fink Lab

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have created acoustic fabric that converts mechanical vibrations into electrical signals, like our auditory system. When the fabric is moved, an electrical charge is created. This fabric detects heartbeats and respirations, as well as “the angle of a sound to within 1 degree at a distance of 3 meters.” Not only does this fabric detect sounds, but it can also function as a speaker, sending audible vibrations to another fiber. Potential uses include measuring dust accumulation on spacecraft skin, crack or strain detection in structures, fetal heartbeat monitoring, and improving the signal-to-noise ratio.

To learn more:
https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00760-w
https://whdh.com/news/local-researchers-redesigning-the-way-we-dress-by-studying-the-ear/

Noisy Toys List Note

Posted: April 13, 2022

Each year, the Sight & Hearing Association (SHA) tests toys to determine whether they are louder than 85 dB SPL. Thank you to our NHCA members who made the Noisy Toys List possible. The 24^th Annual Noisy Toys List can be found here.