Hearing Awareness Day

A fantastic success.

Christchurch’s first Hearing Awareness Day on 14 October 2009 was a fantastic success!

We asked Christchurch to be quiet for one minute to raise awareness about the dangers of hearing loss, and Christchurch responded! Things went very quiet in Cathedral Square were we were based and we were rapt to have MPS Nicky Wagner and Ruth Dyson and Deputy Mayor Norm Withers – Bob was away overseas.

Internationally renowned hearing loss expert Dr. Jean-Pierre Gagné spoke at the university and we had student and committee volunteers walking the streets spreading the word while John McKenzie from enthuse manned the mic and music in the Square with  Association President Bob Abbot, Manager Pauline Marshall and Services co-ordinator Marie Sutton all going great guns managing inquiries, checking sound levels on i-pods and MP3 players and handing out information.

It was great to have the support of Hearing Technology who did lots of free hearing checks!

It really was a fantastic team effort and we would like to say a huge thank you to all the companies that supported the day – bring on 2010!

Remember... Toxic noise is noise pollution. Car alarms, emergency service sirens, office equipment, factory machinery, construction work, grounds keeping equipment, barking dogs, appliances, power tools, lighting hum, audio entertainment systems, loudspeakers and noisy people, they all contribute to noise induced hearing loss.

Sounds above 115db can cause instant damage. Continued exposure to sounds over 80db can lead to permanent hearing loss. It is a real danger, a silent killer, and we just don’t realise how dangerous, or how much killing is going on.