Traffic Noise Hazardous to Health
High traffic noise levels may cause heart disease, high blood pressure and even
early death, according to Danish Work Environment Institute’s senior researcher Søren Peter Lund, who conducted a study on the effects of traffic noise at night on the body. Study results released last December indicate that the risk of injury to health increases by nine percent for each five-
decibel (dB) increase in noise levels.
Another study that tested the hearing of 4,000 professional drivers and street vendors and measured street noise levels indicated high risk of hearing loss for those who work in Bangkok, Thailand’s noisy inner city. Workers were found to have hearing thresholds (minimum sound level required for hearing) between 37 and 58 dB compared to the better 13 to 44 dB range of their peers who work in less noisy areas of the city. Three of the four districts tested had average daytime noise levels between 76 and 83 dB, well over the 70 dB guideline Thai authorities say street noise levels should not exceed. The study also documented that traffic officers and people living in the inner city had worse than average hearing. Read more on both studies at www.hear-it.org.
European Commission Awards Innovative Designs
The European Commission announced the winners of the first Design for All and Assistive Technology Awards held in Düsseldorf Germany in November, 2004. The awards recognize excellence in design of accessible mainstream products and services and assistive technology for persons with disabilities.
Of greatest interest to people with hearing loss is the home emergency telephone, submitted by a German manufacturer. Suitable for use by anyone, the phone also features larger buttons and user-friendly volume control for visually and hearing impaired users and in case of emergency can relay for help via phone or portable transmitter which may be worn around the neck. Binom Produktdesign of Germany won in the assistive technology category with the Butler, a mobile phone with an emergency function that when activated alerts emergency personnel of the phone user’s exact location. For a full list of winners, visit www.dfa-at-awards.org.
Harnessing the Sun for Better Hearing
Solar-powered hearing aids are fast becoming a viable technology for people with hearing loss in both developing and developed countries. Godisa Technologies Trust in collaboration with Botswana Technology Centre has produced SolarAid Behind-the-Ear (BTE) Hearing Aid which uses solar-powered button-cell batteries that can be charged up to 300 times over a two-year
lifespan. Hearing International reports that two recent clinical trials of the low-cost aid which is suitable for living conditions of the developing countries showed them to be beneficial
to consumers and compatible with quality assurance guidelines from the World Health Organization.
Visit www.godisa.org for the complete report on SolarAid BTE. Additional companies featuring solar-powered alternatives are listed at www.listen-up.org/haid/hear-aid.htm.
