Updated clinical guidelines published the journal Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery say cotton swabs are not appropriate for earwax removal. In fact, information for patients in the guidelines say not to put anything "smaller than your elbow in your ear."
The world is getting louder. Scientists define "noise" as unwanted sound, and the level of background din from human activities has been doubling roughly every three decades, beating population growth. Road traffic in the United States has tripled over the last 30 years. By 2032, the number of passenger flights is expected to be nearly double the 2011 figure—at peak hours, planes are even audible overhead 70 percent of the time in the remote backcountry of Yosemite National Park.
Research published in the Lancet journal found that dementia, a chronic disorder of mental processes, was more common in people who lived within 50 meters of a major road than those who lived further away.
The researchers tracked approximately 6.6 million adults aged between 20 and 85 in Ontario, Canada, for over a decade (2001 to 2012).
What do hypertension, sleep disorders, cardiovascular disease, impaired cognition and being annoyed have in common?
All are possible outcomes of too much noise around us.
Hearing loss and ailments such as the ringing ears of tinnitus aren’t the only things we should worry about. Evidence of the non-auditory effects of noise on health is growing.
United Airlines baggage handlers will get some protection from ergonomic hazards in the workplace, under what the U.S. Department is calling “a precedent-setting agreement” with the airline. The agreement settles a lawsuit filed by the department on behalf of OSHA to eliminate several hazardous conditions its inspectors identified in United's baggage-handling operation at Newark Liberty International Airport, where United baggage handlers reported at least 622 musculoskeletal injuries from 2011 to January 2015.
You may have seen water bottles labeled “BPA Free” or heard that certain foods contain BPA. BPA (or bisphenol A) has been in the news over the past several years. BPA is weakly estrogenic; that is, BPA may mimic some of the hormone-like effects of estrogen. BPA is used primarily in making polycarbonate plastic and some epoxy resins. The general population is exposed to BPA mainly through diet.
The United Steelworkers (USW) are praising OSHA for its release last week of the final rule for occupational exposure to beryllium and beryllium compounds in general industry, construction and maritime.
“This has been a long time in the making,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.
Gig worker safety, U.S. mining deaths are down even as U.S. mining black lung disease cases are on the rise and public health professionals weigh in on proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act. These were among the top stories posted on ISHN.com last week.
Nearly half of all adult asthma cases – 48 percent -- might be related to work – and thus, preventable -- according to a study published in the CDC’s MMWR last month. This finding means as many as 2.7 million U.S. workers might have asthma caused by or exacerbated by workplace conditions.
Coal workers’ pneumoconiosis, also known as “black lung disease,” has reappeared in the U.S. in “alarming” numbers, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
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