Purpose The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of minimal hearing loss on children’s ability to perform simultaneous tasks in quiet and in noise. Methods Ten children with minimal hearing loss (HL) and eleven children with normal hearing (NH) participated. Both groups ranged in age from 8 to 12 years. The children categorized common words (primary task) while completing dot-to-dot games (secondary task) in quiet as well as in noise presented at 0 and +6 dB signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). It was hypothesized that the children’s progression through the dot-to-dot games would slow as they encountered more difficult listening environments. This hypothesis was based on the theory that listeners have limited cognitive resources to allocate to any combination of tasks. Results The dot rate of both groups decreased similarly in the multitasking conditions relative to baseline. However, no other differences between groups or listening conditions were revealed. Significantly poorer word categorization was observed for the children with minimal HL in noise. Conclusions These data suggest that children with minimal HL may be unable to respond to a difficult listening task by drawing resources from other tasks to compensate.

A growing number of cities and counties in Minnesota have adopted policies or ordinances that restrict tobacco in outdoor locations. Current policies banning or limiting tobacco use on park and recreation grounds exist in at least 70 communities around Minnesota. However, little is known about the support for such policies. The goal of this project was to learn more about the level of support for tobacco-free park policies in Minnesota. A mail survey was sent to 2,400 randomly selected adult Minnesota residents, and a phone survey was administered to 257 park and recreation directors. Of the 2,400 surveys mailed, 1,501 (68%) were returned. Among the general public, 70% favored tobacco-free park policies. Reasons cited for supporting such policies include to reduce litter (71%), to reduce youth opportunities to smoke (65%), to avoid second-hand smoke (64%), and to establish positive role models for youth (63%). Park and recreation directors also support such policies (75%). Recreation directors in cities without a policy expressed a high level of concern over enforcement issues (91%), but few problems were reported (26%) in communities with a tobacco-free park policy. Broad support for tobacco-free park policies exists among the public at large and among park and recreation directors who work in tobacco-free parks. Fears of policy difficulties among park and recreation directors who work in parks without a tobacco-free policy are much greater than actual problems experienced in Minnesota tobacco-free park areas.