House Ear Institute's Sound Partners Program to Provide Free Hearing Screenings and Outreach at NAMM

	Graph Detaiing Hearing Loss in Speech

House Ear Institute (HEI), through its Sound Partners hearing conservation program, is carrying out its annual tradition of providing non-profit hearing health outreach services at the 2011 NAMM Winter Show this January 13-16 at the Anaheim Convention Center. Having recently expanded their online services, the program is now the music industry's most complete resource to help address current hearing loss and related disorders, provide the latest hearing science research and offer prevention education.

The Sound Partners program continues to raise awareness among audio and music professionals and the listening public about the permanent hearing health risks associated with excessive exposure to sound volumes at or exceeding 85 decibels (dB). It also offers practical protection methods to encourage lifelong careers in the field of sound.

"NAMM provides the HEI with the perfect opportunity to reach a diverse range of music professionals and offer free screenings and audiology consultations," said Marilee Potthoff, director, community education and outreach, House Ear Institute. "This year, we are pleased to be offering NAMM attendees information about the full range of services now available through our Sound Partners program."

HEI's Sound Partners Hearing Conservation Program's expanded online features are available at www.hei.org, and include:

• Hearing help line
• Online hearing workshop
• Audio question and answer forum
• Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) prevention tips
• News and special events

HEI's free hearing screenings for NAMM attendees and distributors will be available at Booth #1292 in Hall E during show hours from Thursday, January 13, 2011 through Sunday, January 16, 2011.

Licensed audiologists from the House Ear Institute and House Clinic will be on hand to counsel participants on their hearing screening results, which are kept strictly confidential. The institute's outreach staff also will hand out additional hearing health education and literature and be available to answer questions from visitors.

This year's event is sponsored by NAMM, TEC Foundation and the Howard Leight/Sperian Hearing Protection, LLC. Howard Leight has generously donated thousands of earplugs to be distributed at HEI's show booth.