Adolescents and young adults appear to have somewhat different perspectives on risks to hearing posed by PLD use. Messages designed to suggest actions they might take in avoiding or reducing these risks, therefore, need to be targeted to achieve optimal outcomes. We offer specific recommendations regarding the framing and content of educational messages that are most likely to be effective in reducing the potentially harmful effects of loud music on hearing in these populations, and we note future research needs.
Industrial wind turbines are frequently thought of as benign. However, the literature is reporting adverse health effects associated with the implementation of industrial-scale wind developments. This article explores the historical evidence about what was known regarding infra and low-frequency sound from wind turbines and other noise sources during the period from the 1970s through the end of the 1990s. This exploration has been accomplished through references, personal interviews and communications, and other available documentation. The application of past knowledge could improve the current siting of industrial wind turbines and avoid potential risks to health.
Significant proportions of IWT facility neighbors complain about turbine noise and sleep disturbances, among other adverse health complaints. We undertook an independent evaluation of several wind turbine projects located in Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, and Wisconsin to assess if common etiological factors exist. Adverse effects appear to relate to a basket of common factors that were overlooked or not included in preconstruction planning including noise predictions and assessments of likely community reactions. Correcting oversights in future projects should result in quieter IWT projects with reduced or no adverse community reactions. A unified methodology for doing so, enabling wind turbine developers, governmental agencies, municipal boards, and private citizens to assess for potential adverse noise impacts during the permitting phase is presented. Our results are consistent with prior USEPA studies, WHO assessments, and Pedersen and Waye research, among others.
As part of a NIOSH study examining factors affecting hearing conservation program (HCP) effectiveness, a job-noise exposure matrix was constructed using these data sources: (1) task-based sound level survey data; (2) noise exposure data (dosimetry and sound level surveys) provided from plant historical reports; (3) information on process changes and engineering controls; (4) interviews with plant personnel (in engineering and safety departments); and (5) detailed work history data from personnel records for each employee in the plant HCP. For plants in which changes in exposures have occurred due to engineering control and process changes, exposure estimation becomes a challenge when there are data gaps in exposure and process changes. This paper discusses how data from structured employee interviews can be used in conjunction with available quantitative, records-based data to reconstruct processes and machinery/layout history. The goal was to characterize how noise exposure determinants (manufacturing environment, equipment, processes, shift lengths) have changed and to estimate exposure by department, job, and era. The first step was to identify employees for interview whose jobs were located in departments where exposure data were sparse or nonexistent. Data collection efforts were then geared towards reconstructing noise exposure for specific departments and jobs over time.
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