Tag: hidden hearing loss

What is Safe Listening?

My article is included in The Safe Listening Issue of Hearing Health magazine. Because it’s 2026. But the answer is wrong if you ask Artificial Intelligence, AI, or chatbots the…
2026 Year of Quiet Activism

I hope you’ll join me in 2026 for a year of quiet activism. I’m planning to share safe soundscape content, challenges, polls, quizzes, and educational activities. Why? Health and communication…
Coping Tools for Hyperacusis & Tinnitus

There are so many videos out there promising instant relief to tinnitus, and they just aren’t real. In this video, I info share about what coping tools actually work and…
Digital Tech Dangers: Screen Time & Personal Listening

My latest Safe Sound Science with Granny Jan series is on the Dangers of screen time for children and teens at home and school. Now on YouTube and TikTok, I…
Tinnitus & Hearing Loss Simulations

Image by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash. What does it sound like to have tinnitus caused by loud music or noise exposure? I’ve put together a short SoundCloud playlist of noise-induced…
Screen Time and Health Risks in Children and Teens

I am a co-author of a new study, along with lead author Julie Cullen, on the impact of digital technologies on health and wellbeing of children and adolescents. Our study…
Safer Personal Listening Guidelines

If ears bled from unsafe personal listening with headphones or earbuds, maybe there would be mandatory manufacturing safety standards to better protect public health. Imagine riding a 10 speed bike,…
Teaching Children and Teens about Safer Personal Listening

There are many causes of early childhood or teen onset hearing loss, tinnitus, and/or hyperacusis (decreased sound tolerance). Unlike other causes, early noise damage to hearing health is entirely preventable.…
Gaming Could be a Contributing Factor to Hearing Loss and Tinnitus

Dangerously misleading “safe” listening information is shared in a recent article in the British Medical Journal that found gaming could lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. Risks included gaming at…
Style Guidelines for Children’s Hearing Protection

As a general rule, earplugs are not recommended for children up to age 12 unless prescribed or fit by an audiologist or hearing healthcare professional. Earplugs are difficult to insert…
This is Your Brain on Noise

It is generally accepted that loud and very loud noise exposures can cause hearing loss. When I first read Dr. J.J. Eggermont’s book Noise and the Brain, I was horrified.…
No Hearing Protection at Stadium Sports Events

I was excited to watch the Canada vs Belgium World Cup men’s soccer match in Qatar. I had no doubt our team would do Canada proud. But this isn’t about…
Protecting Hearing at Concerts

Images by Jan L. Mayes Whether it’s pop, rock, or country, amplified music at concerts is loud enough to damage hearing health. I’m an old bat in my 50’s and…
If Ears Bled from Everyday Noise Exposures

The image for this post was a graphic for a hearing health shock campaign I planned in 2017. I wanted to raise awareness about noise risk from common everyday sound…
The Health Impact of Environmental Noise

[Originally published at silencity.com in 2019; noise risk decibels revised April 14, 2022] Environmental noise is damaging and inflicts unwanted sounds into everyday life. In 1984, Gordon Hempton, The Sound…
If Only We Could See the Damage of Noise Exposure

I was very honoured to have my article featured in Tinnitus Today, Spring 2022 issue. I discuss science from my 2021 papers published in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, co-authored…
Airhorn Noise Joke

When my oldest child (now a young adult) arrived at work on April Fool’s Day this year, there was a noisy joke waiting for her. Co-workers rigged an air horn…
Protecting Hearing for Life

Written by Jan L. Mayes, MSc, Audiologist (Retired) This article was originally published in Communique, the Speech-Language Audiology Canada blog: https://blog.sac-oac.ca/protecting-hearing-for-life/ The theme of World Hearing Day 2022 is, “To…
Personal Listening Systems are Likely Unsafe at Any Sound

I was excited to have a second paper published in The Hearing Journal, co-authored with Dr. Daniel Fink of The Quiet Coalition. We’re trying to raise awareness about personal listening…
The Danger in Headphones

I was honoured to be included in the Hearing Health Foundation Summer 2021 Entertainment issue. My article is on the danger in headphones (and earbuds). It includes tips on how…
Too Loud Article in The Hearing Journal

I was very excited to have an article published in The Hearing Journal. The title is Too loud: Noise exposure in everyday life is causing hearing loss. I co-authored this…
Unsafe at any Sound: Hearing Loss and Tinnitus in Personal Audio System Users

This is the second of two papers I co-wrote with my colleague Dr. Daniel Fink of The Quiet Coalition. It was accepted in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics and is…
Too Loud: Nonoccupational Noise Exposure Causes Hearing Loss

In July, my colleague Dr. Daniel Fink and I had two papers accepted for publication in Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics. Both papers are open access and free to share.…
Personal Audio System Use Can Harm Audio Health

Dr. Daniel Fink and I presented our talk titled Personal Audio System Use Can Harm Auditory Health at the 180th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. It was presentation…
Finger Plugs Protect Hearing Health

This International Noise Awareness Day 2021, ignore the images showing people clapping their hands over their ears to block out loud noise. This doesn’t lower sound levels. Hands are NOT…
Personal Listening Case Scenario in American Family Physician Journal

I was honoured to co-author this case scenario with Dr. Daniel Fink of The Quiet Coalition. The clinical topic is on making recommendations to patients on how to lower personal…
When Hearing Aids Don’t Work

[Revised January 19, 2024. Originally published December 17, 2020 at silencity.com.] Many people with hearing difficulties delay getting help because they’re told hearing aids don’t work. But in my experience,…
Build Your Own Hearing Protection Toolbox

I was pleased to write an article and help answer reader questions for the American Tinnitus Association Winter 2020 issue of Tinnitus Today. This is an excellent issue full of…
Community To Vote on Noise Control Cost

[Originally published at silencity.com] What happens when citizens want highway noise control but the financial cost is high? The Canadian community of Beaconsfield, Quebec is facing skyrocketing noise control estimates…
Fake Crowd Noise Poses Real Health Threat

[Originally published at silencity.com] With coronavirus pandemic restrictions on fan attendance, NFL football teams have lost the stadium crowd noise once called a home field secret weapon by the Seattle…