AgDARE - Agricultural Disability Awareness and Risk Education

Hearing Loss - Tips for "Sound Advice throughout the Years" Simulation Exercise

Content

This is a story about two boys who became and remained life-long friends as they grew up, ran their farms, and raised their own families. The story begins when the boys are 16 and ends when they are grandparents at age 55. The story deals with how exposure to loud noise causes hearing loss and why it is important to wear hearing protection. Hearing loss has undesirable social consequences. It also increases the risk of injury or death to the person with the hearing loss as well as to other persons who work or play near the hearing impaired person. The story is based on real-life incidents.

Objectives

This exercise can help farm family members become more aware of:

The risks of not wearing hearing protection while working around loud noise.

The reasons that people do not wear hearing protection.

The role of earplugs and ear muffs in preventing hearing loss.

Intended Audience

Young and adult farm men and women who are exposed to loud noise through their work or recreational activities.

Young and adult urban and suburban residents who are exposed to loud noise.

FFA and vocational agriculture students, 4-H youth.

How to Use These Materials

Review the exercise problem booklet, answer the questions, and look at the answer key.

Decide if the exercise is useful to you or others with whom you work.

Use the material in any of these ways

As an activity for a meeting or class. The "Sound Advice" exercise is a story with a plot, characters, and predicaments. Once they begin the story, people want to complete it. Therefore:
• Administer the exercise in one 20-minute session. Allow another 15 to 20 minutes for discussion. Ask people to work together in groups of 3 to 5. Give each person his or her own problem booklet and answer sheet.
• As each small group finishes, give them an answer key. Make sure everyone has a chance to compare his or her answers to those in the answer key. The key tells more about the story situation and also contains additional factual information.
• Make sure everyone has a chance to discuss Sound Advice story and the information on the Answer Key.

As an individual activity given to a person to complete when convenient.

For school or community projects about safety. (Ask students or adults to complete the exercise and then to discuss it with other people, or to make a short presentation or display about hearing loss. The drawings included in the booklet can be enlarged and used for a display or presentation.)

Materials Needed

"Sound Advice throughout the Years" problem booklet (Duplicate one copy for each participant.)

“Sound Advice throughout the Years" answer sheet and questionnaire (Duplicate one copy for eachparticipant.

Answer key for "Sound Advice throughout the Years " exercise (Duplicate one copy for each participant or for each small group.)

Discussion Questions

1. Do injuries like the one in this story happen because of hearing loss?
2. Do you know of a similar incident where a person’s hearing loss resulted in a close call, injury, or fatality?
3. Are you, your family members, or friends at risk of hearing loss? From what types of noise?
4. What are some things you can do to protect you hearing?

Ideas, Notes, and Comments
Use this space to write down your ideas and plans for using these materials.

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