Bloomberg's New Campaign: Loud Earbuds

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg is launching a new public health campaign:

Bloomberg — who has already cracked down on smoking, junk food, trans fats, salt and super-sized drinks — is embarking on a new crusade: preventing New Yorkers from going deaf. Hizzoner’s health officials are planning a social-media campaign to warn young people about the risk of losing their hearing from listening to music at high volume on personal MP3 players, The Post has learned. “With public and private support, a public-education campaign is being developed to raise awareness about safe use of personal music players . . . and risks of loud and long listening,” said Nancy Clark, the city Health Department’s assistant commissioner of environmental-disease prevention.

The campaign is kicking off with a $250,000 grant from the Department of Health.

NEW YORK: Lawmaker Wants To Ban Electronic Devices While Walking

New York state Sen. Carl Kruger wants to make it illegal to use any electronic device while crossing the street.

Violators would be required to appear in court, and revenue from the $100 fines would go to a fund to educate people on the dangers of device distractions, the senator said. “This is not a nuisance offense,” Kruger said. “People are dying.” Kruger re-introduced the bill after a Manhattan man, who reportedly was using an iPod, was killed by a truck as it backed into an Upper East Side crosswalk last month. “If we were acting responsibly, then government would not have to interfere,” he said.

UNRELATED: Gay activists last year picketed a Kruger fundraiser, claiming that the Brooklyn Democrat was a closet case who voted against same-sex marriage in order to hide his sexuality.

20% Of Teens Have Some Hearing Loss

The incidence of partial hearing loss among teenagers is soaring, according to a just-released study out of Massachusetts. And experts are naturally pointing to the iPod and similar devices.

The study of thousands of 12 to 19-year-olds found the number of them suffering from partial hearing loss jumped by 30 per cent between the early 1990 s and 2005-06. The prevalence of partial hearing loss rose from 14.9 per cent to 19.5 per cent - a relative jump of almost a third, found the authors of the study, led by Dr Josef Shargorodsky, of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. The incidence of slight hearing loss jumped by 77 per cent. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), also found that boys were more likely to experience hearing loss than girls. Emma Harrison, director of public engagement at the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), said: "This study highlights the widespread concern felt over the risks personal music players, together with loud music at gigs and clubs, pose to hearing." She said two-thirds of people who used iPods and other in-ear audio players, had used them to listen to music at louder than 85 decibels "which according to the World Health Organisation, can cause permanent hearing damage over time".

I haven't had my own hearing checked in years, but I often wonder what damage I may have done over 30 years on the dance floor.