 Five Years of WISE EARS!® ... Five Years of Progress
Have you noticed it has gotten a little quieter?
We think WISE EARS!® has reached more than 100 million people, based on the potential of the combined circulation of many publications in English and Spanish, local, regional, and national newspapers and magazines, radio and television programs, and, yes, even film. And, of course, the terrific pavement pounding done by all our WISE EARS!® partners. The WISE EARS!® message is sinking in: WISE EARS!® do last a lifetime! But, we all know hearing or reading a message once is not enough. We need to keep repeating this important message until everyone in America has heard it enough times that it sticks.
WISE EARS!®, the national campaign to prevent noise-induced hearing loss, just turned five years old. From fledgling beginnings with our first partner, the National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and 11 other committed groups, we have quietly grown into a diverse coalition nearly 100 strong.
Together this coalition has accomplished much. People of all ages, backgrounds and regions of the United States have heard our message about how even "everyday" noises from woodworking tools or lawnmowers or sport shooting can, when we use them up close, too frequently, and for too long a period of time can cause permanent damage to the ears.
Here's how it started.
The WISE EARS!® campaign debuted nationally during the Fourth of July holiday in 1999. This family holiday served as the perfect platform to launch the campaign. That's when NIDCD's Director, Dr. James Battey and the head of NIOSH, participated in a media tour that reached over 8 million television viewers and millions more through National Public Radio and articles that appeared in 232 newspapers across the country. For although everyone is familiar with the dangers of setting off fireworks that can damage one's eyes and limbs, few knew that firecrackers, which are much closer to your ears and produce a sound that is at 140 decibels, can cause instant, permanent hearing loss. The message was simple: Noise that is--too loud--too close--too long equals damage.
The news media have welcomed the WISE EARS!® message. Experts at NIDCD and leaders from our coalition have had many outlets to speak to a wide audience. "dB Owl", our trademarked mascot, has appeared on the pages of magazines and newspapers in 50 states and territories. With a proliferation of noise including headphones, amplification systems and power tools, our daily exposure to noise may be far greater today than at anytime in human history -- and the greatest increase has occurred in just one generation. About 30 million Americans are exposed to dangerous levels of noise every day, and 10 million Americans already have hearing loss from noise. James F. Battey, NIDCD's Director, notes in an April 2004 Time Magazine article, "The greatest increase in noise-related hearing loss occurs for people 45 to 64 years old. This is almost 20 years younger than we would expect."
NIDCD conducted formative evaluation to determine how to reach under-served audiences. The four selected audiences included miners, American Indian nursing students studying to reach their communities and Latina and African-American mothers in Houston. The results of the evaluation provided direction for new outreach to Hispanic/Latino/Latina audiences, African-American audiences, American Indian communities and workers. NIDCD pilot-tested projects, with NIOSH, for vocational high schools and Latino/Latina community members in a Wooster health center.
Locally, NIDCD cooperated with permanent, part-time, contracted, sub-contracted, union workers, and managers, in conjunction with the NIH health service, to reach construction, maintenance, animal care and use, wood and machine shop and grounds crews to determine best practices for recommending how to work in existing systems to encourage workers to wear hearing protection.
The media have continued to help in sharing the word. Our biggest media hits, designed as a counter-attack on noise, so far include a cover story in U.S. News & World Report; a front-page, "above-the-fold" article in the L.A. Times; a major front section story in the Washington Post; the Baltimore Sun; another large article a few months later in USA Today, the nation's most-read newspaper; and then a Today Show appearance by the Noise Center at the League for Hard of Hearing; March 2004, an article in the Washington Times; and, the recent extensive article in Time Magazine.
Our partners have been working to spread the message to all the corners of the country. For example:
- Targeting teachers and parents, the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA) produced a new brochure about the risk of noise-induced hearing loss in children;
- As an advocate for noise awareness, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has aired many PAs for television, and radio, and created print media for their "Keep An Eye On Your Ears" public service campaign that focuses on noise levels of everyday sounds;
- Deafness Research Foundation and the National Campaign for Hearing Health get the WISE EARS!® word out with their Hearing Healthy Kids event, Toxic Noise Initiative, Healthy Hearing magazine, and by joining forces with Pontiac GMC, a division of the General Motors Corporation, to establish a hearing health awareness program at auto shows;
- Awarded a first-of-its-kind grant from the Grammy Organization, Hearing Education and Awareness for Rockers developed strategies to educate musicians and the public about hearing conservation. HEAR's Executive Director has worked with many "baby boom" musicians and rock-and-roll groups like The Who as they tell their experiences with hearing loss to engage a younger group of musicians;
- America's Hearing Healthcare Web site is the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery's resource to increase public awareness of the symptoms, identification, treatment, and prevention of hearing loss;
- Two 16-page booklets on the problems created by classrooms with high noise levels and on the reverberation issues that affect teaching and learning were produced by the Acoustical Society of America. The two booklets give an overview of the problems experienced by students and teachers as a result of excessive noise-- and, importantly, they offer solutions;
- And our manufacturing friends, Howard Leight Industries, 3M and Hearing Aid Manufacturers have made important contributions to health fairs annually to help the WISE EARS!® coalition members and increase the use of hearing protection for work and leisure.
Boomers might remember that The Beatles stopped playing live concerts in 1966 partly because the amplification systems of the day didn't enable the songs to be heard over the screaming fans. No more. Screams clock in at 110 decibels; rock concerts regularly exceed 120 decibels. That's quite a dose of noise for the fan standing in the section in front of the amps, and even greater for the technician who is exposed daily to damaging levels of noise.
We have also been successful at reaching school children, a vulnerable population. We've taken our message directly to 70,000 Girl Scouts and their families and also attendees from 50 states at a 4-H health fair. For elementary school teachers and students we have developed the "I Love What I Hear" classroom activity for grades 3 through 6, along with a web-based interactive sound ruler and the "How Loud Is Too Loud" bookmark. The WISE EARS!® educational outreach video "I Love What I Hear" played on Channel One, a news program that reaches 8 million students ages 12-18 in 12,000 schools. All these materials are available through the NIDCD and the Eisenhower Clearinghouse used by teachers nationwide. That video complements our educational outreach materials developed over the last five years. NIDCD has just released a middle school curriculum supplement, nationwide "How Your Brain Understands What Your Ear Hears." The final lesson in the package is on preventing noise-induced hearing loss in middle schoolers.
The Oregon Health & Science University has received a Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA) from the NIDCD to fund a new component of the Dangerous DecibelsTM program. The public health partnership is part of an educational collaboration designed to significantly reduce the prevalence of preventable hearing loss in children and teens. The program uses science exhibits, hearing loss research, classroom presentations, and research in six pilot schools, and a hearing science and hearing loss prevention-education program for regional public schools.
For parents, we have the WISE EARS!® for Life" flyer and a fact sheet on noise-induced hearing loss. For the general public, there is a toll-free phone number (800-241-1044), where anyone can request all materials including the WISE EARS!® Tips fact sheet, a quick reference on how to protect your hearing as well as a "toolkit" so that community organizations can produce their own WISE EARS!® materials and get local support and sponsorship for health fairs and exhibits.
Our goal over these five years has been to reach as wide an audience as possible. Most of our materials are translated into Spanish (¡ESCUCHE CON SABIDURÍA! para toda la vida), and our coalition members have been featured on Radio Unica.
We have reached out to the rural community with advice about hunting and farm equipment. Our specially designed rural outreach program is called Bang! Boom! Buzzzzzz! WISE EARS!® also appeared in Hunter Handbook-Lessons in Shooter Safety, an annual publication that is distributed to hunting and shooting instructors for classroom use.
For the middle-aged generation, we have the "Ten Ways to Recognize Hearing Loss" bookmark. Through NIOSH we bring the WISE EARS!® message to the workplace where dB Owl dons a hardhat and explains specific noises that are damaging to workers. We've had excellent help from the Laborers' Health and Safety Fund of North America, a union representing over 800,000 working men and women in a variety of occupations. They have conducted major trainings and developed Web and print materials. The message for workers is to protect themselves and their families.
For older Americans, we have excellent support from our partner, AARP, with continuing coverage in My Generation and Modern Maturity. They have encouraged subscribers to learn to protect their hearing-for a lifetime.
Military bases, such as Air Force Audiology Association and Madigan Army Medical Center along with NASA, due to special efforts of their audiologists, have spread the word on noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) prevention to current employees and retired personnel at special health fairs on the bases.
Our Web site at www.nidcd.nih.gov /health/wise documents our outreach efforts. All the old classics are posted here, including the radio spot with the provocative title "Do You Want To Know a Way To Age Faster?" (The answer: Don't protect your ears.)
And the good work continues--with your help.
Our coalition members have been exceedingly creative in reaching select populations.Hobnobbing with celebrities, the House Ear Institute, distributed thousands of earplugs at post-Grammy Awards parties and the Cinema Audio Society (CAS) Awards in Los Angeles in 2002. (Grammy and CAS program books each carried an ad promoting hearing conservation to their members).
Sertoma International, the service organization with the longest history of concern for individuals with communication disorders, has armed its members across the country with information on NIHL prevention as its national service project. The WISE EARS!® project was featured in the Sertoman magazine and Digest newsprint reaching the 20,000-plus members and projects have begun across the country in schools, community centers and through newspaper inserts, all created by Sertomans. Their Board has approved a major, national WISE EARS!® initiative for Speech and Hearing Month, May 2005. And the good works continue.
Planning for the future, NIDCD is working toward the goals of Healthy People 2010, a major national health promotion and disease prevention initiative of the federal government. For the first time Healthy People has recognized noise-induced hearing loss prevention as a significant objective. WISE EARS!® directly responds to two goals of HP 2010: (1) increase the use of ear protection devices and equipment, such as earplugs or earmuffs, and (2) reduce the number of children, teenagers, and adults suffering from noise-induced hearing loss.
NIDCD and NIOSH and the WISE EARS!® coalition plans a 2004-2005 Summit to look to the next five years and share "awesome practices" and forge new partnerships and initiatives.
By the way, the ® symbol in our name signifies that both the name and dB Owl are registered service marks. This enables us to distinguish our service from others, ensuring the quality and identity of the WISE EARS!® effort for years to come.
WISE EARS!® continues to prove that a coordinated effort from a coalition of organizations who care about hearing can have an impact upon the safety and the quality of life of many Americans.
The NIDCD with dB Owl, NIOSH and all our coalition members thank you for your support and ask you to keep it up!
Marin P. Allen, Ph.D., NIDCD and Max Lum, Ph.D., NIOSH
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