Photo credit: SoulRider.222 licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist When it comes to people getting hearing aids or not, a recent viewpoint article in JAMA Otolaryngology identifies that cost is not the only barrier. While lower prices or low...
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Jan L. Mayes
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Fireworks damage hearing
Photo credit: Jonas Von Werne from Pexels by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist A recent article is a good reminder that fireworks can damage hearing. Fireworks are loud explosive blasts of sound that can cause permanent hearing loss, tinnitus or ringing in the ears, and...
Personal audio system use is bad for your ears
Photo credit: Zen Chung from Pexels by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition On June 10, our noise colleague Jan Mayes presented a paper at the 180th meeting of the Acoustical Society of America titled “Personal Audio System Use Can Harm Auditory Health." I was...
Hearing loss crisis among musicians
by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist A recent article about the hearing loss crisis among musicians reports hearing loss as every musician’s worst nightmare and as devastating for a musician as losing a hand. Many professional musicians have permanent hearing problems...
Worst noise ever
Photo credit: Rob Knight licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist What is the worst noise or noises for you? Mine range from opera to loud aircraft flying over my house. But the consensus on social media is that the iPhone alarm is the worst...
Project NoiseMaker targets loud vehicles
Photo credit: Michael Burns licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist Police in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, are targeting loud vehicles with Project NoiseMaker. The project was launched in 2020 to crack down on excessive vehicle noise from...
Are robot mowers quiet?
Photo credit: UGA CAES/Extension licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist How loud are robot mowers? A New York Times article on reducing pollution emissions discusses increased focus on landscaping equipment like robot mowers to replace hazardous...
Fact Check: 85 dB is not safe for hearing
Photo credit: Chuck Kardous, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist If I had $1 for every time I see an article incorrectly state that 85 decibels (dB) is “safe” for auditory health, I would be rich. It’s especially...
Debunking the myth that ears adapt to loud volumes
Photo credit: Sound On from Pexels by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist (Retired) It’s encouraging to see a recent university news article on the danger of hearing damage from personal listening with earbuds or headphones. Unfortunately, it shares the myth that our ears...









