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Nurse Notes
Hearing occurs when sound waves in the
air pass through the outer, middle and in-ner ear and are changed into
electrical impulses. Sound waves enter the ear canal hitting the
eardrum and causing it to vibrate. The eardrum passes these vibrations
to the 3 tiny bones called the incus, malleus and stapes in the middle
ear. The bones amplify the sound vibrations and send them to the snail
shaped, fluid filled inner ear (cochlea). As the fluid moves in
response to the vibrations, tiny hair cells on the cochlear membrane
ripple, sending electrical stimuli to the auditory nerve. As these
signals arrive in the brain, they are interpreted as sound.
NIHL can be caused by a one-time intense
exposure, such as an explosion, or by repeated exposure to loud
sounds. The expo-sure causes damage to the sensitive hair cells and
once they are damaged, the hair cells do not grow back. To reduce the
risk of permanent hearing loss, doctors recommend some steps to
minimize exposure and reduce the risk of permanent hearing loss:
Know what sounds are dangerous (those
sounds at or above 85dB).
Wear protective devices or distance
yourself when involved in loud activities.
Reduce long term exposure to loud
noise and give yourself "rest periods" between exposures.
Educate children about the dangers of
loud sounds and long term exposure.
Know your decibels! Whispers are heard
at 20dB and normal conversation is heard at about 60dB. Sounds that
cross the 85dB range include: firecrackers, drills and electric saws,
lawn movers, truck traffic, car horns, rock concerts, jet engines, and
gun shots.
Muffling the loud sounds can help reduce
exposure. Use ear plugs when mowing the lawn or working with electric
tools.
With the advent of personal music
devices, reducing long term exposure is a real challenge. With
thousands of songs and long lasting batteries, kids and adults listen
for hours each day. Surprisingly iPod 0% volume actually has 10dB of
sound and 100% volume has a whopping 110-120dB (same level as a live
rock concert and sandblasting)! According to American Academy of
Audiologists and Apple, the iPod manufacturer, listening to any of
today’s popular portable music players too loudly for too long can
permanently damage hearing. So, it is recommended that you keep your
iPod at no more than 60% volume and listen for no more than one hour a
day. If you are listening for longer, turn down the volume. Apple has
free software that allows you to set maximum volume limits on Nanos
and fifth generation iPods- a great tool to help protect your ears.
There is limited re-
search about the earbuds we all use
these days but the belief is that because they fit directly in the
ear, they are more damaging than the older earphones.
As parents/guardians, educating children
about the dangers and protecting them from exposure is so important.
The expo-sure kids get today can result in signifi-cant hearing loss
by the time they are adolescents - and we know what a challenge it is
already for teenagers to actually listen to their parents! Let’s give
them every benefit we can.
This month’s fruit is the strawberry,
the first to ripen each spring. It is also the only fruit to have
seeds, 200 of them, on the outside. Because of its red color and heart
shape, it has been linked to love and beauty. In France, strawberry
gardens were cultivated at the Louvre to beautify the area and at one
time, newly married couples would drink "strawberry soup" to celebrate
their marriage. In Belgium, there is a strawberry museum dedicated
solely to this fruit. California is the U.S. state with the largest
strawberry har-vest-23,000 acres each year. It is said that if you
lined up the annual crop of California strawberries, it would wrap
around the world 15 times. High in vitamins C and K, potassium and
fiber, it is delicious way to celebrate spring! But handle with care,
cutting, juicing or injuring can reduce the vitamin content.
Strawberries can be used in smoothies, or tossed into salads. Spinach
salad with strawberries, almonds and sesame seeds
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