Institute: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)

WISE EARS!® and its partners spread the word about protecting your hearing. WISE EARS! is a health education campaign led by NIDCD and 92 organizations to prevent irreversible noise-induced hearing loss. One partner, Sertoma International (SERvice TO MAnkind), is a 20,000-strong volunteer service organization. Recently, Sertoma Headquarters enlisted all their clubs in developing service projects incorporating WISE EARS! messages and materials.

One club in Hendersonville, Tennessee, developed a newspaper insert to teach the local community how to protect themselves against dangerous levels of noise. Another club, the Azalea Sertoma Club of Summerville, South Carolina, distributed WISE EARS! posters to workplaces and initiated projects in the local schools, where they distributed educational posters and conducted a WISE EARS! owl coloring contest.

Next spring the club will invite all sixth graders in Dorchester School District Two to compete in a WISE EARS! essay contest by writing a 500-word essay on Why Hearing Matters, How NIHL Can Be Prevented and How Having WISE EARS! Can Last a Lifetime. The three winning writers will each receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond to be presented at a dinner. Many other Sertoma clubs have developed ways to implement the WISE EARS! programs directly in their communities and the organization has committed to long-term projects in towns across America.

Next Steps
For more information on WISE EARS!®, visit www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/wise. For more information about Sertoma International, visit www.sertoma.org.