Apple explains the science of sound and listening responsibly

On December 30, 2009, Apple Inc won their appeal for iPod hearing loss lawsuit. The appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the plaintiffs failed to show that use of the iPod poses an unreasonable risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Senior Judge David Thompson wrote, “At most, the plaintiffs plead a potential risk of hearing loss not to themselves, but to other unidentified iPod users” (via Reuters). I believe that the lawsuit was originally filed in 2007.

At that time, Apple was under fire and decided to address issues concerning responsible use of their iPod. So, they launched a page on their website called Sound and Hearing and the option to set the maximum volume limit on an iPod. This can be especially useful for parents who want to protect their kids ears from exposure to loud sounds. 

Just remember that exposure to any sound at extremely loud levels can cause damage to the hearing system.

Etymotic custom earpieces – are they worth it?

The Wall Street Journal recently posted an article written by Courtney Banks, who shares her experience with using a pair of custom-fit, noise-isolating earphones by Etymotic, Inc. Listening to any music device can be frustrated in the presence of background noise. There have been published studies that show the effects of listening to mp3 players at very loud volumes for extended periods of time. This type of exposure can lead to noise-induced hearing loss. Since standard earpieces do not block excessive noise in the environment, people tend to crank up the volume on their mp3 players to hear over the noise. According to Etymotic, the custom-fit earphones can reduce ambient noise by 26 decibels.

Good news is that noise-isolating earphones are becoming increasingly more popular. For a more comfortable fit in the ear canal and for a better seal, custom earpieces can be added to Etymotic’s Hf2 noise-isolating earphones ($179). The article describes how an audiologist can take impressions of the ear canal to create the custom piece, which fits on the earphones. These cost an additional $100, but according to Ms. Banks, they are well worth it!

Check out a video of the custom earpieces – Wall Street Journal

To reach a wider audience, Etimoytic is selling the earpieces through Perfectearphones.com and plans to sell them in Apple stores by summertime. The standard earphones are purchased with a voucher. Simply take the voucher to an audiologist’s office to have impressions taken of your ear canal. These impressions are used to create the custom earpiece. Check out the full WSJ article here.

Why Hearing Aids DON’T Suck by Healthy Hearing

A recent article published on the Healthy Hearing website provides a rebuttal to a Wired magazine article titled “Why Things Suck: Hearing Aids,” that according to Healthy Hearing, gave misinformation about current hearing aid technology. Here is one example from the Wired magazine article: “High-end hearing aids add a directional microphone trained in front of the listener, but that increases cost and, critically, bulk.” This is a false statement!


Almost every digital hearing aid on the market today is equipped with directional microphones that can assist the listener understand speech better in noisy situations compared to an omnidirectional microphone that picks up sound from all around. The hearing aids with dual microphones are not more expensive nor do they require larger hearing aid casings. Check out one of Phonak’s new products, the Audéo SMART (pictured), which is a small hearing device with directional microphones offered at all three performance levels along with other features. Not only does this hearing aid have a directional microphone but it has adaptive directionality, like most hearing aids on the market today. This means that the hearing device can be set to automatically evaluate the sound environment and select the best microphone configuration for the situation.


The Wired article also goes on to say, “Hearing aids can cost more than $3,000 apiece,” which is also incorrect! Hearing aid technology comes in a range of prices and do not start at $3,000! The article goes on and on feeding the reader inaccurate information without any resources.


Ok, I digress. Read the article by Healthy Hearing called, “Why Hearing Aids DON’T Suck,” to learn about how hearing aids can improve one’s ability to hear and positively impact the quality of life of hearing impaired individuals. It also provides a good overview of advancements in digital hearing aid technology including design, microphones, digital sound processing and batteries.

Crescenta Valley High School: Hearing Conservation Presentation

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of presenting to the students of Crescenta Valley High School’s Academy of Science and Medicine program. The presentation is part of the grassroots effort on behalf of House Ear Institute’s (www.hei.org) teen hearing conservation program titled, “It’s How You Listen That Counts!”

The presentation included a range of topics including: basic anatomy of the ear, noise-induced hearing loss information and prevention, benefits of earplugs, how to use earplugs and the myth of cotton swabs. Afterwards, the students had some of the most thought-provoking questions about hearing and ear health! They were an outstanding group, not to mention very respectful!

Hopefully, the group will be able to schedule a field trip to visit the House Ear Institute to check out the ear model in the lobby and a few research labs!

I hope that I will be asked to return for more presentations at Crescenta Valley in the future!

I plan to post some photos from the presentations soon.

House Ear Institute Teen Workshop information

Photos from presentation for 9th graders

I posted a couple photos of the 9th graders during the presentation on Nov. 21st. Photos courtesy of Julian Diego Lometillo, a Clark Magnet HS student.

Japan is releasing speakers that fit inside your ear canal this August 2008. Click on the link to read about the technology on Tech-On! Victor’s Earphone Makes Sound Deeper in Ear. (Image from http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/)

Think this might be a bad idea? Definitely! Here’s why…

First of all, the brain adjusts to sound after a while. So, for the argument that having the earphone deeper in the ear would allow people turn the volume down lower than with earphones that do not sit as deep… this would most likely not be the case. As the brain adjusts to the lower volume, people have a tendency of wanting to turn it up.

These speakers definitely have the potential and technology to cause permanent hearing damage. The placement of these speaker units being so close to your eardrum also mean that they are closer to the hair cells of the cochlea (sensory organ of hearing) in the inner ear. Hair cells are responsible for transmitting sound information to the brain. When these hair cells are exposed to loud sounds, anything above 85 dB, they are prone to permanent damage. There is a pie chart created by House Ear Institute with different decibel levels and the number of hours of exposure it would take to cause hearing damage. With repeated exposure at unsafe levels, there would likely be a measurable hearing loss.

Yes although those with hearing loss who are fit with hearing aids have an earmold that sits deeper inside their ear canal, which delivers amplified sound to their ears, they only have access to making minimal adjustments with their volume control. The amount of gain applied is prescribed using objective measures. However with these speakers, unless you were well aware of safe sound levels, you could potentially blow your eardrums. Anyone heard of a ruptured eardrum?

Whittier Daily News – Youths warned of threats to hearing

As a presenter on behalf of House Ear Institute in Los Angeles, California, I present hearing information to kids and teens. On May 21, 2008, I presented my hearing conservation awareness presentation to the 7th and 8th graders at Downey West Middle School in Downey, California.

We were lucky enough to have the local newspaper, Whittier Daily News come out to cover the event. Since I still need to get permission to post images here, I have posted the link to the article:

Youths warned of threats to hearing – Whittier Daily News

Below is a PDF file of the article, since it will move to the archives soon.
Simply click on the images to read the full article.

South Pasadena Middle School Presentations

On January 14, 2008, I prepared and presented the hearing conservation program titled, “It’s How You Listen That Counts” on behalf of the House Ear Institute at South Pasadena Middle School in Pasadena, CA. The goal of the presentation was to educate approximately 1,050 students (6th-8th graders) on basic anatomy of the ear, how we ear, safe sound levels, dangers of loud noise exposure and how to protect our hearing. The presentations ranged between 25-30 minutes and included a question and answer session. The students were a great group and asked some thoughtful questions!

An interactive portion of the presentation involved the use of a sound level meter to measure the loudness level of music in decibels (unit used to measure sound intensity). To show this, an iPod was connected to an external speaker and a student volunteer read the level displayed on the sound level meter as I increased the volume of the iPod. The purpose of the demonstration was to listen to what 85 dB sounds like and also emphasize the importance of the location of the sound source in relation to your ears. The students learned that sound intensity attenuates (decreases) as distance increases and how this can help us with protecting our ears.

As always, it was a pleasure to be able to meet with students in the community and contribute to their learning experiences. I hope that the information will help them make sound decisions, such as using earplugs in loud environments (ex. concerts) and setting safe volume levels on their mp3 players and other electronic devices. I am also continuously amazed at how receptive children and teens can be on hearing matters!

Boys and Girls Club of Burbank presentations

The hearing awareness conservation presentations at the Boys and Girls Club of Burbank were a hit with the summer day camp students!

The topics presented to the first-third graders included importance of hearing, how we hear, identifying very loud sounds and the danger, and how to protect your hearing.

The fourth- eighth graders received a similar but more in-depth presentation that also encompassed measuring sound levels using a sound level meter, noise-induced hearing loss and why not to use cotton swabs in the ear. After receiving a warm welcome, both groups were respectful, attentive and seemed eager to learn about hearing. I was thrilled to have had an opportunity to share my knowledge with them. It wonderful to meet students and answer their hearing-related questions. I hope to visit them again soon.



















Picture of me with the winners of the quiz session. The Earbud t-shirt prizes and Earbud brochures were courtesy of House Ear Institute. Many thanks to House Ear Institute for their continued support of my efforts!

Money magazine reviews “Noise-Isolating” earbuds

Click on the images to read the full article.

A larger image will open in the same window or right click to open in a new window.

The current issue of Money magazine features connecting a review of noise-isolating earbuds to a topic that appears to be receiving more attention in recent months than it has in the past: noise-induced hearing loss. With the popularity of mp3 players, as well as the risk they present with improper use, some magazines are finding good reason to discuss the hearing factors involved in consumer-product reviews. “Easy Listening: Noise-isolating earbuds deliver music in peace, no matter what’s going on around you” by Wilson Rothman channels the main healthy hearing message using a consumer-friendly approach.

Rothman reviews six low-priced model earbuds and declares Creative’s Zen Aurvana, priced at $100, as the Field Test Winner. But before he names the winner, he notes the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders ( www.nidcd.com), which states that exposure to sounds louder than 85 decibels for an extended period of time can cause hearing loss. He further mentions a significant detail that most consumers are unaware of: the maximum volume level on the iPod is 115 decibels. Rothman compares this sound level to a chain saw and grounded jet and provides an alternative to turning up your music to block background noise – buy a pair of decent noise-isolating earbuds to use with your mp3 player.

Although these are not “noise-canceling” headphones as Rothman points out, he covers all the essentials in his review of some brand-name noise-isolating earbuds and gives consumers a range to choose from. I use the Apple In-Ear earbuds and agree with Rothman that the price and sound quality are good but I think it has a couple drawbacks. My ear canals are fairly narrow and they fall out of my ear canal too often while exercising even though I use the appropriate size inserts. Without a nice tight fit, it is difficult to achieve its noise-isolating capacity.