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.
A month after banning the ownership of pet dogs, Iran's Exalted Glorious Supreme Islamic Leader has banned the teaching or playing of music, saying it is "not compatible" with Islamic values.
In some of the most extreme comments by a senior regime figure since the 1979 revolution, Khamenei said: "Although music is halal, promoting and teaching it is not compatible with the highest values of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic." Khamenei's comments came in response to a request for a ruling by a 21-year-old follower of his, who was thinking of starting music lessons, but wanted to know if they were acceptable according to Islam, the semi-official Fars news agency reported. "It's better that our dear youth spend their valuable time in learning science and essential and useful skills and fill their time with sport and healthy recreations instead of music," he said. Unlike other clerics in Iran, whose religious rulings are practised by their own followers, Khamenei's views are interpreted as administrative orders for the whole country, which must be obeyed by the government. Last month Khamenei issued a controversial fatwa in which he likened his leadership to that of the Prophet Muhammad and obliged all Iranians to obey his orders.
Music and television pioneer Mitch Miller died in NYC this weekend at the age of 99. Miller's Sing Along With Mitch album series and television show essentially created the concept of karaoke.
Mr. Miller, a Rochester native who was born on the Fourth of July, had been an accomplished oboist and was still a force in the recording industry when he came up with the idea of recording old standards with a chorus of some two dozen male voices and printing the lyrics on album covers. The “Sing Along With Mitch” album series, which began in 1958, was an immense success, finding an eager audience among older listeners looking for an alternative to rock ’n’ roll. Mitch Miller and the Gang serenaded them with chestnuts like “Home on the Range,” “That Old Gang of Mine,” “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen” and “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” When the concept was adapted for television in 1961, with the lyrics appearing at the bottom of the screen, Mr. Miller, with his beaming smile and neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, became a national celebrity.
When I was a toddler, my grandmother once got hysterical because she thought I had already picked up my father's famously filthy mouth. But I wasn't saying "son of a bitch," I was pointing at the TV and saying "Sing along with Mitch!" My mom still tells that story. See if you can spot the future superstar in the below clip around 2:50.
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. 
