National Protect Your Hearing Month – Time to fill the “know-do” gap
A variety of NIOSH blogs spread the word about hearing loss prevention
By Christa L. Themann, MA, CCC-A
When it comes to health, a large gap often exists between what we know (for example, we know that eating too much sugar is bad for our health) and what we still do. Hearing loss prevention is no exception. We have been aware of the harmful effects of overexposure to noise for over a century. Governmental recommendations and regulations have been designed to protect against these effects for decades, and we have a large body of research pointing out effective ways to prevent noise damage, yet noise-induced hearing loss still ranks among the most common occupational illnesses in the US. One reason may be that hearing researchers and government bodies have not effectively communicated what we know to those in a position to put this knowledge into action. Over the past several years, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers have focused on narrowing this “know-do” gap by trying to improve our communication and dissemination efforts with safety and health professionals and the public through available communication channels and social media.