NHCA E-News April 2026
 
Enhance Your Knowledge: Free NHCA/CAOHC Webinar – Today, April 8 

Register for today's live webinar!
OSHA and the Occupational Noise Standard: Your Questions Answered 
April 08, 2026, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM EST 
This webinar will be recorded.
Apply Now
 
Join the Social Media Committee 

Looking for a meaningful way to contribute – without a major time commitment? You can make an impact in just 1–2 hours a month with the National Hearing Conservation Association. 

you’re passionate about hearing conservation, communication, or digital outreach, consider joining the Social Media Committee.  

As a committee member, you’ll: 

  • Contribute ideas and help draft or share posts and graphics  

  • Share messages about hearing conservation and NHCA initiatives with a broader audience  

  • Collaborate with professionals across the field  

  • Build your network and grow your skills  

Time commitment: 1–2 hours per month 

No matter your level of experience, your voice can make an impact. 
Apply Now
 
Student and Early-career Professional Network (SEPN) Young Member Task Force

We’re excited to launch a new NHCA Student and Early-career Professional Network (SEPN) initiative to better connect early‑career professionals and students in hearing conservation, including audiologists, industrial hygienists, occupational health and safety professionals, physicians, nurses, acoustical engineers and technicians, researchers, and related disciplines.  

If you are a student or at the early stage of your career in hearing conservation and would like to receive targeted updates, resources, and future job opportunities, please complete this short survey to be added to our interest list.  

We are planning our first round of young‑member activities in March and will share more details later. If you are a faculty member, program director, or supervisor, we would greatly appreciate your help in forwarding this announcement and survey link to students and early‑career professionals in your programs or organizations who may be interested in NHCA and hearing conservation. 
 
Listen Up! 
0426
Every two months, NHCA experts contribute a short article to the IHW Magazine. The latest issue included the NHCA article titled “Measuring Personal Attenuation Ratings of Earplugs in Industrial Workers” by Sridhar Krishnamurthui and Britney Ball. An added bonus is the cover topic, “Hearing Protection: From Compliance to Proactive Prevention" by Jeff Wilson and Jeff Carpenter (Industrial Hygiene, Current issue), March/April isse, pages 8-10).  
Recent Hearing Research 

  1. Understanding the Neurologic and Cognitive and Behavioral Effects Associated With Exposures to Jet Fuels: A Fit-for-Purpose Systematic Literature Review.  Sprowles JLN, Allen BD, Lindahl AJ, Prince LM, Bowers EC, Martin EM, Kolanowski A, Lundin M, Goodman SJ, Starnes HM, Gillera SEA, Snow SJ, Eftim SE, Haver CE, Robertson M, Vincent-Hall TD.J Occup Environ Med. 2026 Mar 1;68(3 Suppl 1):S31-S50. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003593. Epub 2026 Feb 10.PMID: 41664289 Free PMC article. Review. 

  2. Transportation noise and self-rated health: Evidence from the German national cohort (NAKO). Slesinski SC, Bolte G, Zhuang S, Lakes T, Rehfuess E, Staab J, Bamberg F, Baurecht H, Becher H, Brenner H, Glaser N, Greiser KH, Günther K, Harth V, Heise JK, Keil T, Klett-Tammen CJ, Leitzmann M, Lieb W, Meinke-Franze C, Mikolajczyk R, Moreno Velásquez I, Mueller U, Nagrani R, Obi N, Övermöhle C, Pischon T, Schikowski T, Schipf S, Schlett CL, Schmidt B, Schulze MB, Tönnies T, Willich SN, Peters A, Schneider A, Wolf K. Environ Res. 2026 Mar 1;294:123885. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2026.123885. Epub 2026 Jan 27.PMID: 41611060 Free article. 

  3. Association between noise pollution exposure and incident breast cancer in the Sister Study. Gedeon BA, Chang CJ, James P, Jones RR, White AJ.Environ Res. 2026 Mar 1;292:123686. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2026.123686. Epub 2026 Jan 6.PMID: 41500304 Free PMC article. 

  4. Effects of noise on health-related quality of life: The roles of outdoor noise, indoor noise, and noise sensitivity. Park SH, Lee PJ.J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2026 Mar;36(2):398-408. doi: 10.1038/s41370-025-00816-9. Epub 2025 Oct 28.PMID: 41152448 Free PMC article. 

  5. Analysis of potential health impacts of road and rail traffic noise, using noise at residential locations in Austria as an example. Hamik M, Schindler S, Moshammer H.Wien Klin Wochenschr. 2026 Mar;138(5-6):129-136. doi: 10.1007/s00508-025-02609-4. Epub 2025 Sep 5.PMID: 40911091 Free PMC article. 

  6. Navigating Cognitive Screening and Service Delivery for Sensory Impairment in Occupational Therapy. Dumassais S, Campos J, Pichora-Fuller MK, Orange JB, Savundranayagam M, Mick P, Phillips NA, Wittich W.Can J Occup Ther. 2026 Mar;93(1):79-92. doi: 10.1177/00084174251361594. Epub 2025 Jul 30.PMID: 40734463 Free PMC article. 
 
Sound Postcard
Figure 1: A doctor carrying a smartphone. Image from Pexel, CC0 license (https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-doctor-using-her-smartphone-8413399/) 
 
Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used in medicine successfully to improve diagnostics by predicting disease risk. A recently published study in 357 patients over the age of 50 who had risk factors for heart disease assessed the utility of AI in detecting heart disease. The study found that AI was able to AI-assisted stethoscope was able to pick up on heart sound patterns that indicate moderate-to-severe valvular heart disease with far greater sensitivity compared to a normal stethoscope. 

Read more about the news article here, and for more details, check out the journal article here. 

If you have come across interesting articles that might be a good fit for the Sound Postcard, send them along to me to feature! 

 
 
 


Who is NHCA?


We are a group of passionate hearing conservationists willing to share their expertise to prevent hearing loss. NHCA members include occupational and clinical audiologists, industrial hygienists, occupational health nurses, acoustical engineers and technicians, physicians, occupational health and safety professionals, military personnel, university professors, students, researchers and others with an interest in hearing conservation. 





Visit the Virtual Marketplace Year-Round! 

Learn more about NHCA’s sponsors by accessing profiles, videos, and other helpful links here.

Our Vision: To prevent hearing loss and other auditory disorders due to noise and secondary environmental factors in all sectors of society.

Our Mission: NHCA provides leadership, expertise, and education on hearing loss prevention strategies and services to the broader professional community and empowers and supports members through networking and advocacy.

If you appreciate the information brought to you each month by NHCA E-News, please join us in our mission to prevent hearing loss. Become a member and enjoy significant discounts on educational events, including conferences, webinars, and access to scholarly articles. 
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Vidya Krull, PhD, CCC-A
Editor, NHCA E-News
[email protected]

Questions? Contact us at [email protected]. 
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