On May 4, 2011, between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., the House Research Institute (HRI) will host “Sound Rules! A Sound & Hearing Celebration,” a free event for teens, at the Director’s Guild of America (DGA) Theatre in New York City (110 West 57th Street). The after-school event will address the pervasive issue of noise-induced hearing loss among teens and feature Paul Stanley, the front man and co-founder of the iconic band KISS; New York City indie band I Love Monsters; and House Clinic Otologist M. Jennifer Derebery, M.D.
House Research Institute is a leading non-profit, formerly known as House Ear Institute, dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with hearing loss and related disorders through scientific research, patient care and the sharing of knowledge.
The two-hour event is part of HRI’s healthy hearing teen initiative titled “It’s How You Listen That Counts,” which has educated millions of teens around the world since 2006. According to a recent study published in JAMA, one out of five teens suffers from hearing loss, a 30 percent increase over 15 years ago. More than one third of these cases are caused by over-exposure to sound levels above 85 dB.
“As a rock musician I’ve seen the damage caused by noise-induced hearing loss firsthand,” says Stanley. “It’s important to get the word out to young people who may be damaging their hearing, oftentimes without even knowing it. Noise-induced hearing loss is permanent, but it’s easily preventable without any sacrifice to the listening experience. The ‘Sound Rules!’ event is a cool way for teens to learn about healthy hearing while having a great time. My profession may give me more credibility in some eyes than the advice of a doctor. If you won’t listen to someone in a white coat, listen to someone in black leather!”
“Sound Rules” will feature other activities including a teen game show, a chance to win valuable prizes and a pre-event “Sound Choice Video Essay Contest.” The video essay contest encourages teenagers to view the educational material about hearing loss prevention on the institute’s teen Website at www.earbud.org, and then demonstrate what they’ve learned in a creative way by producing a video essay. The grand prize is an electric guitar autographed by Paul Stanley, and Stanley will announce the grand-prize winner, who must be present at the May 4 event to claim the prize.
For more information and to register, go to soundrules.org.
