University of Northern Colorado Associate Professor Deanna Meinke and her colleagues from around the nation collaborated with the Centers for Disease Control’s Division of Adolescent and School Health to add an online educational resource for helping to prevent noise–induced hearing loss in children.
Their efforts have led to the CDC including on its existing health Web pages for the first time information on the topic of children’s noise–induced hearing loss, the result of exposure to excessively loud sounds that can be easily prevented.
The Web page can be viewed at http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/noise/index.htm. It is designed with K–12 educators and school administrators in mind. There are also links on the page to other groups and organizations that provide credible and valuable information on the topic.
"This is a huge step in recognizing on a federal level an important aspect of health that sometimes can be overlooked," Meinke said. "It marks the first time the CDC has taken an official stance on noise–induced hearing lost in children and the CDC is reaching out to encourage schools to play an important role in this public health effort."
Meinke, in UNC’s Audiology and Speech–Language Sciences program, is president of the National Hearing Conservation Association and has previously led a statewide program, called "Dangerous Decibels," that provided classroom presentations and educational materials on helping prevent noise–induced hearing loss in children.