Experts Available To Discuss Hearing Loss in Younger People.

TOPIC: Hearing specialists warn the popularity of portable music players and cell phones may lead to hearing loss in younger people, according to an article by The Associated Press. Doctors have noticed a growing number of students with noise-induced hearing loss, which consists of mild ear ringing and the inability to hear high-pitch frequencies. Visiting loud concert and clubs, using firearms and power tools can cause noise-induced hearing loss. A study from researchers at Boston Children's Hospital found that listening to a portable music player for one hour per day at 60 percent of its volume capability is considered safe.

EXPERTS: ExpertSource can offer several highly qualified experts to comment on this story:

Dr. Thomas Brammeier, of the College of Medicine at Texas A&M University, can share his expertise regarding balance disorders, deafness, ear diseases and otology.

Dr. Angela Loavenbruck has been in private practice in New York City, New York since 1975. She was an Associate Professor of Audiology at Teacher's College-Columbia University and presently serves on the faculty of Nova Southeastern University's AuD program. She is co-author (with Jane Madell) of the first textbook on hearing aid dispensing for audiologists and has written extensively about private practice, marketing audiology services, audiology practice standards and the need for doctoral level entry standards for audiology. Dr. Loavenbruck has served on numerous committees and boards on the professional doctorate, academic and practicum standard development and ethics. Along with Alan Feldman, she authored the resolution calling for recognition of audiology as a separate profession from speech-language pathology. She also authored and presented the resolution that called for the requirement of a doctoral degree for entry into the profession. Dr. Loavenbruck has served as president of the New York State Speech-Language Hearing Association and received NYSSLHA's Distinguished Service award in 1997. She was also awarded the Joel Wernicke award by the Academy of Dispensing Audiology for her work on behalf of the AuD, and received the President's Award for Distinguished Service from the American Academy of Audiology in 2000. Dr. Loavenbruck has served on the Academy board since 1993. Her term as President was from April 2002 until June 2003.

Dr. Aaron Thornton is Tympany's lead audiologist responsible for audiology automation, and has 35 years of professional experience. Dr. Thornton formerly directed the Audiology Department at the Harvard Medical School's Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and recently retired from the faculty of the Harvard Medical School, where he specialized in the application of computer technology to audiometric testing and instrumentation. The expert-systems audiometer that he developed has been used on three continents for the testing of more than 250,000 patients. Dr. Thornton was instrumental in developing the first automated ABR infant hearing screener. In addition, Dr Thornton has patented technology applicable to audiometric testing, hearing aid fitting, and evoked response audiometry.

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