MERP and UPMC Center for Audiology and Hearing Aids partner with Quota International of Hermitage to help prevent hearing loss in music students
FARRELL AND GREENVILLE, July 25, 2011– The UPMC Horizon Medical Equipment Recycling Program, in conjunction with the UPMC Center for Audiology and Hearing Aids, has partnered with Quota International of Hermitage to bring a hearing loss prevention program to Mercer County High School band students.
The high school band directors from Hickory and Greenville High Schools, along with representatives from Quota International of Hermitage, Greenville Rotary and Hermitage Rotary recently participated in a video conference with Catherine Palmer, PhD, Director of the Center for Audiology and Hearing Aids and Associate Professor of Communications Science and Disorders at the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and of Otolaryngology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Dr. Palmer opened the Musician’s Hearing Center at UPMC in 2003 and works extensively on community hearing health, including a partnership with Pittsburgh Public Schools and the Pittsburgh Symphony to promote hearing protection to both professional musicians and students.
Most hearing loss can be prevented, and musicians who are exposed to loud instruments may suffer hearing loss over time. During the conference, Dr. Palmer shared information about the decibel levels of musical instruments in relation with other loud noises. The high decibel levels emitted by those instruments – as well as the entire band – are enough to cause hearing damage. However, many musicians do not like to wear earplugs while playing because they cannot properly hear the music.
Earplugs designed specifically for musicians are available through the Center for Audiology. The musician earplugs do not interfere with the sound of the music; they just significantly lower the intensity and impact on the ear. MERP, Quota International of Hermitage, and the Center for Audiology will provide these earplugs to Greenville and Hickory High School band students as a pilot program in August, just in time for band camp. This collaboration was made possible by Dr. Palmer’s willingness to share the program she designed and began in Pittsburgh Public Schools a number of years ago.
The goal of the initiative is to educate young musicians on hearing loss prevention and awareness while playing musical instruments and to encourage them to use what they learn to protect their hearing for the rest of their lives.
The objective of MERP and Quota International of Hermitage is to collaborate with other organizations and bring the hearing loss prevention program to all band students in Mercer County. The two organizations also are working to design a program that promotes hearing loss prevention and awareness to the school students who do not participate in band.
For more information about the hearing loss prevention program, contact Cindy Hanna, MERP program coordinator and chairperson of the Quota International of Hermitage Speech and Hearing Impaired Committee, at 724-992-4205.