According to a study done by Montgomery and Fujukawa in 1992, “Over last 10 years, percentage of 2nd graders with hearing loss has increased 2.8 times; hearing loss in 8th graders has increased over 4 times.”

No one knows exactly what level damages a child’s ears, but Noise Center’s Rule of Thumb is: IF YOU HAVE TO SHOUT TO BE HEARD THREE FEET AWAY, THE NOISE IS TOO LOUD AND IS DAMAGING TO YOUR HEARING.

For what you can do, go here: http://www.topten.org/public/BQ/BQ173.html .

1. “Noise poses a serious threat to children's hearing, health, learning and behavior," says NoiseCenter. They suggest offering your child peace and quiet. 2. Younger ears are not stronger than older ears.

Children’s ear canals are shorter than adults, and damage more easily.

3. Check out toys your child plays with.

Talk with your pediatrician. A study conducted by Henry Ford Health System found that many current toys, including tape recorders, bike horns, cap guns, and toy telephones, are not safe for your child’s hearing. Of 25 they tested, more than half made sounds higher than 115 dBs. According to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, at 110 dB, maximum undamaging exposure time is one minute and 29 seconds.

4. Prevention is crucial because noise-induced hearing loss can’t be corrected.

A loud enough noise can cause instant, permanent, irreversible damage, some noises can cause damage if heard long enough, and there is also a cumulative effect over time.

5. A noisy squeeze toy is rated 135 decibels (dB) by League for Hard of Hearing.

Check out their website for more information - http://www.lhh.org/noise/decibel.htm .

Alzheimer’s is not normal in course of aging, and it’s more than “a decline in memory.” People suffering from Alzheimer’s, through progressive destruction of brain cells, lose ability to think, reason, learn and communicate, and also undergo personality changes. For ten warning signs of Alzheimer’s go here: http://www.alz.org/AboutAD/10Signs.htm . Alzheimer’s is eventually fatal because person cannot move or swallow.

Although around 12 million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s, and 4-4.5 million in US, research in this field is still new and not enough is known about either prevention or cure. Much of research “suggests” but is not conclusive.

RISK FACTORS

The biggest risk factor is aging, with about 50% of people over 85 years of age having Alzlheimer’s in US. According to some sources, there’s evidence it has same risk factors as for heart disease: high blood pressure, high cholesterol and elevated homocysteine, a protein building block. In an article called “Homocysteine is a Strong Risk factor for Alzheimer’s Disease,” (New England Journal of Medicine, 2002 Feb 14; 346:476-483), researchers concluded that “an increased homocysteine level is a strong, independent risk factor for development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.”

VITAMIN E

According to research done by Martha Clare Morris, ScD, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Chicago, Illinois, lots of vitamin E through food intake, not supplements is helpful. ( www.medscape.com) while another study (http://www.docguide.com/news/content.nsf/news/8525697700573E1885256C00004A766D ) suggests that both food intake and supplements of vitamin E is helpful.

Foods high in vitamin E are wheat germ, almonds, vegetable oils, margarine, and seeds (especially sunflower seeds).

1 T. of wheat germ provides 34.6 mg. of vitamin E, ½ cup of chocolate covered almonds, 14.3 mg., 1 T. corn oil, 11-14 mg., 1 T. soybean oil, 8.8-14 mg. According to Almond Board of California, just one ounce of almonds provides more than 35% of daily value of vitamin E.

FAT

According to studies reported in www.medscape.com, high intake of saturated fat doubles risk of Alzheimer’s disease, and moderate intake of trans fat increases risk by 2-3 times. Lower risk is associated with high intake of both polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. However there have been inconsistent findings, with another study finding no influence from high ingestion of polyunsaturated fats.

FISH AND n-3 FATTY ACIDS