Jun. 07, 2013
On Vacation
I’m taking a two-week break. While I’m gone, please enjoy a couple of favorite posts, to run June 11 and 18, if you missed them the first time. Thank you – Marshall Chasin
Marshall Chasin, AuD, is an audiologist and the Director of Auditory Research at the Musicians’ Clinics of Canada, Adjunct Professor at the University of Toronto (in Linguistics), Associate Professor in the School of Communication Disorders and Sciences at the Western University. He is the author of over 200 articles and 7 books including Musicians and the Prevention of Hearing Loss. Dr. Chasin has been the recipient of many awards over the years including the 2012 Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Award for service to Canada and the Canada 150 Medal in 2017. He has developed a new TTS app called Temporary Hearing Loss Test app.
Jun. 04, 2013
Musicians and not industrial workers – part 3
In part 1 of this blog we discussed the NRR as a single-number rating system for hearing protection that is required by the EPA for all non-custom hearing protection equipment. In part 2 we talked about a failed attempt to establish a two-number rating system and a new one was proposed. This proposition was based on the essential difference between
Jun. 04, 2013
La plasticité cérébrale et la déficience auditive
Republished from the August 2007 issue of Listen/Ecoute, with kind permission of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Par Marilyn Dahl Je suis malentendante, donc j’entends plus lentement.» Ce sont les mots que Margaret Brown, présidente du secteur de Chilliwack, utilise pour expliquer sa difficulté auditive à autrui. J’ai adopté cette formule pour mon propre usage et elle semble efficace pour faire
May. 28, 2013
A dual number rating system for hearing protection – part 2
In Part 1 of this blog we talked about a single number rating scheme for hearing protectors called the Noise Reduction Rating or NRR. This number is mandated to be written on the packaging of non-custom hearing protectors by the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA. The problems with single number rating schemes are that they tend to be simplistic, require
May. 21, 2013
The NRR and Musicians’ Earplugs – Part 1
Whenever one measures the attenuation of hearing protection, it is different for every frequency. This has to do with the rule of acoustics – generally lower frequency, longer wavelength sounds do not “see” an ear obstruction such as an earplug or earmuff as well as the higher frequency, shorter wavelengths. Subsequently, lower frequencies have relatively little attenuation (typically no more
May. 21, 2013
La course vers la ligne d’arrivée
Republished from the Fall 2007 issue of Listen/Ecoute, with kind permission of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. Par Sherry Hinman Il y a seize ans, Kris Martin suivait la course de son oncle et de son cousin et décidait d’être lui aussi pilote de course. Kris avait quatre ans. « Mes parents m’ont dit que lorsque j’aurais dix ans,
May. 14, 2013
The audiogram is really quite silly.
I am constantly amazed by how similar the hearing of an 85-year-old who has never been exposed to noise and has never seriously played music is to the hearing of an 85-year-old retired professional clarinet player who sat down-wind of the trumpet section for more than 45 years. If their hearing was measured when these two fellows were in their
May. 07, 2013
Some aspects of how music and language may interact
The past decade has seen a number of studies (actually over 150 that I could find) that attest to a co-operation (or at least an interaction) between musical ability and the development of language. Some of these studies are well researched such as how early musical training can facilitate language and language development, while other studies that are less rigorous
May. 07, 2013
Prendre l’avion : surmonter les obstacles de la déficience auditive
Republished from the August 2007 issue of Listen/Ecoute, with kind permission of the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association. par Ruth Warick Johan Hammarström est né en 1977 avec une importante déficience auditive. Il a fréquenté des écoles intégrées et il était le seul à porter des appareils auditifs. Ce ne fut pas facile, mais il a essayé de s’intégrer en minimisant
Apr. 30, 2013
Auditory Toughening- part 2
This is a continuation of last week’s discussion of a genetically mediated biochemical process that may cause mice to be less susceptible to hearing loss. In that blog, I had lauded the research, but had criticized the sensationalism of its coverage. I had stated that there were other well-known features of the cochlea that can be protective. One has been