Project Work : Evaulation of Material

Daryanani (16) 16SO7C

Mahesh Gulab

Project Work 2015

Evaluation of Material
Details

Title of Article : How the iPod and Other Audio Devices Are Destroying Your Ears
Author : Sara J.Martinez
Source : http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2011/12/how-the-ipod-andother-audio-devices-are-destroying-your-ears/249521/
Year of publication: 2011

Summary of
Article

The author presents the findings of multiple tests/surveys and interviews experts
regarding MIHL1, highlighting portable music players effect on todays youth and
society at large.

Reliability of
material

Published 4 years ago, this journal still retains its relevance today. Our focus is on
headphones and portable music players, for which the involved technology has
mostly remained unchanged since 2001. Thus, the arguments are still relevant.
Besides, since MIHL gradually occurs over decades, this timespan is perfectly
reasonable. Thus, the article is still relevant.
Although the author is not qualified in the field of audiology, with 5 years of work
experience, a degree in journalism, a Pulliam Fellow at the Arizona republic, she is
evidently proficient in journalism, which involves presenting relevant and truthful
information about the subject at hand. Besides, the The Atlantic editors have
subjected the article to stringent editorial checks, which gives it credence.
Additionally, the author utilizes statistics from reputed sources, such as the
National Institutes of Health, and quotes experts in the field of audiology, such as
Cory Portnuff (Audiologist), who used MIHL as part of his pHD dissertation.
Therefore, the information put across has come from relevant and accurate
sources, thus cementing its reliability.
The article highlights the rising problem of h1earing loss among youth since the
inception of the iPod in 2001, which is corroborated by the European Commission,
which found that 15 per cent of 12- to 19-year-olds reported some degree of
hearing loss in 2001, rising to 19.5 per cent by 2006.
On a whole, The Atlantic is an established news company with 17 million
visits/month (2015) on its online site, thus is a credible news source.

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MIHL Music Induced Hearing Loss

HPB Housing Promotion Board

Project Work : Evaulation of Material

Daryanani (16) 16SO7C

Relevance
of Material

Mahesh Gulab

One of the key ideas presented is that MIHL is an irreversible process that leads to
the eventual inability to discern speech, which is crucial to avoid. As such, the
author stresses the importance of prevention, suggesting the "80-90 rule: listening
at 80% volume for 90 minutes, then letting the sensitive cells in your ears
recharge/rest. This speed limit for music listening is relevant to our project as we
can incorporate this into our Ear Awareness Week strategy by highlighting it via
the interactive exhibits spread around the school, as a rule-of-thumb to adopt.
While the 80-90 formula is an easy-to-remember blanket rule, a minor drawback
that reduces the effectiveness is that music listeners utilize different devices and
brands that each has different audio output levels, ergo, 80% volume of an iPod
(82.4 dB) is more harmful than 80% volume of a Samsung Galaxy Note 3
(52.8dB). Thus, to complement the idea and cater to our target group (secondary
school students), we could, additionally, develop and release a mobile app (in
collaboration with HPB2) that monitors the raw decibel output of music emanating
from the smartphone, and the time spent listening to it. Thiss app could then help
alert the user when a certain time/decibel range has been reached beyond which
the users hearing will be at stake. By introducing effective, accessible, and
interactive control mechanisms to the majority of the youth populace, this app can
effectively prevent MIHL among its users.
However, despite the accessibility, this strategy may not be the most sustainable
as it requires administrative maintenance to ensure that it is constantly updated. If
not well maintained, the mobile application might lose popularity and user numbers
over time. As such, we could opt to include in-app advertisements that can provide
a steady source of revenue, which can be channeled into hiring an app developer
to maintain and regularly update the app, thereby deterring a drop in the user
base.

Word Count: 594(Including Summary of Article, Relevance and Reliability of Material)

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MIHL Music Induced Hearing Loss

HPB Housing Promotion Board