Executive Summary Jonathan Brown June 2008 HLAA-SWCT

1. Hearing Loss Association of America - SW CT Chapter(HLAA,SW CT)and theFederal Aviation Agency (FAA)Airspace Noise Issue Executive Summary Jonathan Brown June 2008 HLAA-SWCT

2. Credits • This presentation would not have been possible without our chapter president’s, Barbara Nagot, leadership and support. • The HLAA-SWCT Steering Committee provided encouragement in the way of questions and patience while this presentation was in its infancy. • Many Internet sources and text books provided the source material for this undertaking. Specific web sites and URLs are available upon request. HLAA-SWCT

3. Topics • Introduction • Our Hearing System • Noise and Its Societal Impact • Aircraft Noise • Reliability of Our Hearing System • Conclusion HLAA-SWCT

4. I. Introduction HLAA-SWCT

5. The Problem • The FAA proposes to use the Fairfield County’s airspace for arrivals and departures from NYC airports. • AfSAP and the State of CT have instituted a suit against the FAA. See www.sensibleairspace.org for details of the AfSAP effort. • HLAA-SWCT’s contention is that the FAA proposal inadequately addresses the noise damage impact. The effect will result in additional Noise-Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) for many living, working, and playing in the Fairfield County area. • The FAA Proposal does not adequately consider findings of the last 15 years. HLAA-SWCT

6. Our Background • HLAA-SWCT is a 70-member chapter in the lower Fairfield County who are Hard-of-Hearing and who meet monthly on current issues pertaining to hearing loss, noise and the latest technology. • HLAA is a national organization with headquarters in Bethesda, MD and many chapters throughout the U.S. • HLAA’s mission is to provide information, education, support and advocacy for those with a Hearing Loss. • Our HLAA membership includes a diverse selection of vocations: doctors, civic leaders, business executives, teachers, nurses and others who can help. • HLAA-SWCT is eager to help both plaintiffs and the communities from the perspective of our understanding of noise induced hearing loss and our auditory system. HLAA-SWCT

7. II. Our Hearing System HLAA-SWCT

8. Key Components of Our Auditory System Recent research findings show how fragile our auditory system is, how prolonged exposure to ambient and impulse noise weakens, then causes hearing loss. It demonstrates how oldnoise standards and metrics are inadequate. It links noise with other health issues besides hearing loss. Source: http://www.headwize.com/articles/hearing_art.htm HLAA-SWCT

9. The System and the Process • The hearing system contains the following five energy transformation processes that respond with microsecond precision: • Acoustic • Mechanical • Hydraulic • Chemical • Electrical • The hearing process • Sound is first amplified by the outer ear and the ear canal • It is transmitted to the ear drum • On to the air-filled middle ear via a series of delicate bones, which are the smallest in the human body, that further amplify the sound pressure. • The amplified sound is then sent to the liquid-filled inner ear that is studded with microscopic hair cells (mechanoreceptors) in the cochlea • The ear hair cells, when stimulated, release a chemical neurotransmitters • Finally, the nerve sends impulses to the brain that sorts out the signal from the noise. • The auditory nerve contains 30,000 fibers that transmit the impulses to the cerebral cortex (15,000 per ear). HLAA-SWCT

10. Energy Transformations • These transformations of energy occur in structures of exceptional delicacy and intricacy where movements of atomic dimensions result in the perception of sound. • Not surprisingly, over time, components of the hearing system become weakened by exposure to noise induced stress and may be easily and permanently damaged. • Hearing loss can occur gradually, as an example, by hair cells that are weakened, damaged or destroyed. • The central nervous system will then attempt to adapt or compensate for the loss by sharing signals from adjacent hair cell bundles until it is overwhelmed by intense or prolonged noise events and significant hearing loss occurs. HLAA-SWCT

11. Our Speech Banana Sounds are verbal and non-verbal. Non-verbal sounds are the birds singing, sirens blaring, etc. Verbal sounds are speech that can be displayed in a section of the audiogram called the Speech Banana. Noise is encroaching on our hearing spectrum from different causes Including, but not limited to the airspace. HLAA-SWCT

12. HLAA-SWCT

13. An Audiogram of a Person Who Can Not Hear Speech low Ambient noise encroachment Loudness high Impulse noise encroachment Frequency HLAA-SWCT

14. Our Auricular System Auricular nerves connect to other nerves that send synapses to organs throughout the body. There is also intercellular communications occurring at the cellular level. HLAA-SWCT

15. Infrasound and Ultrasound • Infrasonic and ultrasonic noise have unique but different characteristics that under certain circumstances are believed to be very significant and have the potential of causing damage to the hearing system and other organs. • Photos of damaged cells exposed to these frequencies are available. • Pilots, technicians, and cabin crewmembers have suffered from a number of disorders when exposed to these frequencies (VAD). HLAA-SWCT

16. III. Noise and It’s Societal Impact HLAA-SWCT

17. Noise and It’s Societal Impact • Hearing Loss • Physiological • Annoyance • Communications • Accelerated Aging • Group Specifics HLAA-SWCT

18. Group Specifics • Adolescents/Children • Adults • Seniors • Handicapped • Hard-of-Hearing • Outdoor Workers, Sportsmen and Recreationers HLAA-SWCT

19. Adolescents/Children • At birth, a child’s auditory system is complete, but not mature, especially with respect to loud noise. • 14.9% of U.S. children have hearing loss of at least 16 dB in one or both ears. • The fetus is capable of perceiving sounds and responding beginning in the first trimester. • There are abnormally high rates of birth defects when expected mothers are exposed to elevated sounds. • Many suburban children average 12 hours a week outdoors and are exposed to outdoor noise consisting of ambient, impulse, and prolonged characteristics. • U.S. historical FAA and OSHA thresholds for impulse and prolonged exposure are suspect because there is no consideration for susceptibility. • From the hearing perspective, noise induced damage is cumulative. • All types of noise have been increasing in the county over the last 20 years. Source: wikipedia HLAA-SWCT

20. Children and You Are Unwittingly Exposing Your Selves… HLAA-SWCT

21. Children and You Are Unwittingly Exposing Your Selves… Above the line: Machines Discos Rock Concerts Symphonies Power Drills Jet Lift-offs Rocket Launches Certain low jet fly-overs create loud impulse noise and ambientnoise, which we knowincreases risk of hearing loss and other health problems. HLAA-SWCT

22. Exposure Time and Sound Level It is the cumulative exposure to noise, not just the prolonged exposure to loud noise interspersed with quite time, thatcan be dangerous to thosewith high susceptibility to hearing loss. HLAA-SWCT

23. IV. Aircraft Noise HLAA-SWCT

24. Aircraft Noise and Hearing Loss • Causes of Hearing Loss • Noise (NIHL), Ototoxic Drugs, Genes, Disease …. Age • Sources and Characteristics of External Aircraft Noise • Engine and Mechanical Noise • Narrowband frequency, propellers, jet engines and helicopters. • Aerodynamic Noise • Increases with speed, size, and low altitude. Broadband frequency. • Includes air foils, rudder, etc. • Aircraft Noise Types That Cause Damage • Impulse • Prolonged Exposure • Ambient HLAA-SWCT

25. Many Factors Determine Aircraft Noise Volume, fly-over intervals, and sound-signatures of planes, their altitude, distance and bearing to the receiver, weather conditions and topography, all contribute to the amount of impulse, and ambient noise. HLAA-SWCT

26. Potentially Damaging Aircraft Noise • Impulse Spikes • Infrasound, Which Is Inaudible • Prolonged Exposure to Loud Noise • Increased Ambient Noise ***************** • “Safe Thresholds” Are Misleading For People on the Ground HLAA-SWCT

27. Impulse Noise Spikes Avg. HLAA-SWCT

28. FAA Should Monitor the Whole Spectrum HLAA-SWCT

29. Low Frequency Aircraft Signature Top: frequency vs. time; Bottom: filtered signal, volts vs. time HLAA-SWCT

30. FAA Errors and Omissionson Fly-over Noise • The FAA focuses on issues such as annoyance, sleep disturbance and interference with verbal communication caused by noise from low flying aircraft. • Noise induced health considerations have greater significance and have been ignored or minimized and include: hearing loss, damage to the cardiovascular system and mental health. • The FAA DNL measure is a time average and does not adequately consider health issues, especially hearing loss, induced by high intensity impulse noise from low flying aircraft. • The FAA measure also is based upon noise that is filtered and thereby eliminates portions of the spectrum such as infrasonic and ultrasonic noise. HLAA-SWCT

31. V. Reliability of OurHearing System HLAA-SWCT

32. The Life Cycle of theHearing System • Reliability Models • Bath Tub and Accelerated Aging • Serial Component Failure • Serial and Parallel Processing • Component Degradation • Ear Drum and Acoustic Reflex • Cochlear Area and Ear Hair Cells (no regeneration) • Hearing Nerve and Brain Cells • Bone Conduction HLAA-SWCT

33. Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) Effects • Lag Between Weakness and Loss Detection • Impact on the Fetus • Other Health Effects • Amplification of Noise for People Wearing Hearing Aids • Impact on Open Space Participants • Annoyance • Communications, Commerce, and Jobs • Acceleration of Aging HLAA-SWCT

34. Acceleration of Aging HLAA-SWCT

35. VI. Conclusion HLAA-SWCT

36. Conclusion • 40-Year Timeline • Examples of Noise-Related Issues to Address • FAA Issues to Be Answered • The FAA A-Filter Metric Issue • It’s Not in My Backyard! • What We Can Provide • Proposed Action Plan HLAA-SWCT

37. 40 Year Timeline 1979 1989 1999 • 1969 – EPA Established • 1970 – OSHA Created • 1972 – Noise Control Act (NCA) • 1979 – FAA established their DNL metric • 1981 – NCA abandoned, delegated to States & Local • 1990s -- First theories and models of current hearing mechanism • 1998 – “From Sound to Synapse” written • 1993 to 2008 -- Recent studies cited in this presentation HLAA-SWCT

38. There Are Many Examples of Noise-Related Issues to Address With the FAA • New Findings on Effects • Auditory system components – fragileness, weakening, failure • Noise weakening causes aging, especially impulse noise • There are many health risks beyond hearing loss due to noise exposure. • Susceptibility – Everyone of us has a different Safe Threshold, some 30 dB lower than “Safe” • Importance of Frequency • When reliability models are applied to the auditory system, the risk of low fly-overs becomes evident: • The “Bath Tub” Curve shows early aging as a result of noise. • The Weakest Link concept shows how undetected early hair cell loss occurs • Prolonged noise exposure studies extend to just above Normal Conversation loudness • Metrics • Susceptibility vs. Discreet Thresholds are not successfully applied • Measuring Auditory System Damage vs. Measuring Noise are two different things • World-wide data reveal FAA shortcomings, too. HLAA-SWCT

39. FAA Issues To Be Answered • Is it correct for the FAA to use a time-averaged and frequency-weighted criteria to determine allowable noise thresholds when it is known through analogy with other environmental stresses that it is the most severe, or worst, stress that does significant damage? • Why has significant research on NIHL by the National Institute of Health, the World Health Organization and other organizations been ignored? HLAA-SWCT

40. The FAA A-Filter Metric Issue • The FAA process appears to place more emphasis upon noise levels or intensity than upon the frequency or repetition rates of incident noise. • The "A" frequency filter is used to provide for "equal loudness contours" that suppress infrasonic and ultrasonic noise as well as alters the noise in the sonic frequencies. • When dealing with factors such as communications and annoyance, such filtering may be reasonable but is not appropriate when dealing with health issues. • The inadequacy of the "A" filter is discussed in the literature and has resulted in the use of either the "ITU-R 468" or "C" filters in Europe and other areas. • It is likely that different filters or none at all (raw or unfiltered noise) is the preferred approach when dealing with health issues. HLAA-SWCT

41. Noise Weighting Note that the FAA’s A-Weighting Does Not Cover Infrasound. HLAA-SWCT

42. It’s Not in My Backyard! • What we say to our HLAA Membership: • If in doubt about the FAA Proposal, then broaden the issue, re-frame the issue as “Community Noise” or “Neighborhood Noise.” • All noise ends up in the same “ocean of air” • Think about other people around you. • If you don’t believe that noise is increasing, we encourage you to raise your sensitivity to this issue. HLAA-SWCT

43. What We Can Provide • A unique perspective on Noise and Hearing • Research and Information Sources • Outreach, Presentations • PR Awareness • In return, can we explore • Liaisons and Introductions? • Licensed Publication Sources? • Meter resources? • Other? HLAA-SWCT

44. Proposed Sound Research • Areas of investigation could include: • Spectrum analysis of noise produced by various aircraft • Analysis of harmonics resulting from distortion of the wave forms of fundamental infrasonic frequencies • Noise-induced health issues as a function of frequency • Resonances of human organs within the frequency spectrums produced by aircraft. This issue is especially important for infrasound frequencies. Such resonances can be extremely damaging. HLAA-SWCT

45. Proposed Action Plan • Identify Players and Teaming Relationships • Identify Published Sources • Define the Process • Determine Next Steps HLAA-SWCT

46. Summary • HLAA-SWCT desires to join a team with other organizations to improve the FAA’s Management-of-the-Environment process. • We believe that only through a concerted effort by several organizations working together we can prevail against the formidable organizations with a vested interest in these issues. • Step one is a teaming plan. • How can we help? HLAA-SWCT

47. Questions • What are the technical and business strategies central to your approach? • What are your milestones? • What are your research needs? • What are your sources for research? • Have you teamed with others? • Can HLAA assist in these efforts? • Can we assist in developing a research plan and associated teaming to support your efforts? HLAA-SWCT

48. Thank you! HLAA-SWCT