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New Hearing Protection Device Offered
A new protective device alerts listeners to unhealthy noise levels. The Ear3 is a miniature, personal hearing threat detector that signals the user when a sound source exceeds safe listening levels. Ear3 is designed to be used with iPods, MP3 players, boom boxes, stereo systems, automobile audio systems, rock concerts, discos, orchestras and other sound sources.
A user presses the handheld device's sound port to determine whether a noise level is too loud. When sound pressures are 70?84 dB, a green light illuminates. At 85 dB, the light flashes red/green, indicating entry to the danger zone for hearing damage. At 90 dB, a steady red indicator light indicates high danger to hearing. At 100 dB and above, the red indicator light flashes rapidly, indicating extreme danger to hearing.
The Hollins Communications Research Institute (HCRI) in Roanoke, VA, developed the device. HCRI was founded in 1972 as a non-profit center dedicated to the analysis and treatment of stuttering. For more information, visit www.stuttering.org/about.html.
Anti-Noise Law Upsets Carefree, AZ
The Arizona town of Carefree is cracking down on motorcyclists by posting anti-noise signs that limit sound to 80 dB. Motorcyclists and others are complaining that the signs do not correlate with the town's noise ordinance limit of 85 dB.
Those breaking the noise limit can be fined as much as $750. A councilman who helped craft the town's noise rules, Bob Coady, questioned how the new noise limit could be listed on signs without amending the town's noise ordinance.
Councilman Lloyd Meyer, who heads the town's Noise Enforcement Advisory Committee, said the town still is using 85 dB as the maximum noise level, according to the Phoenix-based East Valley Tribune. The signs say 80, which is the standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Citizens generally have welcomed the restrictions on noise from motorcyclists who drive through Carefree on their way to biker bars.
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