Have you heard? Noise is back in the news: social media is still buzzing about the new NIOSH Sound Level Meter mobile app that became available for iOS devices last month. Here's what some Twitter users have to say about the app:

@NIOSH creates sound level meter app to measure work noise exposure https://t.co/D9vWxPbPeN Helps ↓ occupational noise-induced hearing loss pic.twitter.com/g0ZGV9zpTP

— CO Safety Assoc (@COSafetyAssoc) February 13, 2017

@aesorg have you seen our brand new Sound Level Meter app? A useful & handy tool for audio engineers & musicians https://t.co/LpzvLaU3ek

— NIOSH (@NIOSH) February 3, 2017

There is an app for that: The NIOSH Sound Level Meter app is a useful tool to collect noise exposure data: https://t.co/HtxzX3lVih pic.twitter.com/81Jgg0W5I2

— RHP Risk Management (@RhpRisk) January 31, 2017

The app, which reports instantaneous sound levels in A-, C-, or Z-weighted decibels, is free to download and was designed for industrial hygienists, occupational health and safety managers, and workers who may not have access to professional sound measurement instruments. NIOSH hopes the app will help raise workers’ awareness about noise exposure and occupational noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

A recent CDC analysis of national survey data suggests that NIHL may affect nearly one in four adults in the U.S. Outlets from HealthDay News to NBC News are discussing CDC’s report under headlines such as “For Millions of Americans, Everyday Life Takes Toll on Their Hearing” and “Hearing Loss at 20? CDC Says It’s More Common Than You Think.” CDC researchers analyzed audiograms as well as data generated by hearing-related questions from a 2011–2012 survey of a nationally representative sample of Americans. Extrapolating the data to the national population suggests that 39.4 million Americans, or 24 percent of the total U.S. population, have some degree of NIHL. Those exposed to loud noise at work were twice as likely to have NIHL.

Military personnel are exposed to impulsive noise “at levels and durations far exceeding what has been deemed safe for the civilian work force”—so writes Bruce Amrein in the November 2016 Synergist in one of two recent features on occupational noise in the military. Amrein, a guest researcher at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, outlined recently revised military standards that address steady-state and impulsive noise.

Is impulse noise a “deaf spot” for industrial hygienists? In the January 2017 Synergist, author Corey Bender describes challenges that IHs face with impulse noise hazards, especially as they relate to military personnel. These challenges include difficulties in accurately measuring impulse noise peaks and ethics-related obstacles to studying the effects of impulse noise on hearing. Further complicating efforts to protect hearing is the fact that each branch of the military evaluates the risk of impulse noise differently. Bender notes that, as of January 2017, subject matter experts still had not agreed on damage risk criteria for impulse noise.

Later this year, the Synergist staff plans to publish an article containing practical suggestions on approaches to sampling for noise. What other noise-related topics would you be interested in reading about in The Synergist or AIHA’s e-newsletter, The Synergist Weekly?