Four New Orleans elementary schools will be the sites this month for "safe listening" performances of the "Listen To Your Buds" (www.listentoyourbuds.org) public education campaign of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).
The Buds campaign educates the very young about practicing safe listening habits such as turning down the volume and taking listening breaks when they use personal audio technology. Recent research both in the United States and abroad indicates that misuse of the technology has the potential to cause noise-induced hearing loss.
New Orleans native Charmaine Neville will entertain—and educate—students during "Buds" concerts at four schools—Wednesday, November 18, at 9:00 a.m., 1:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Academy and St. Benedict the Moor, respectively, and Thursday, November 19, at Sarah T. Reed Elementary at 10:00 a.m. and Joseph Craig Elementary at 1:00 p.m. Neville will weave the Buds message of safe listening throughout her performances.
Born into the third generation of the New Orleans legendary musical family, Charmaine started out backing up the Neville Brothers and went on to perform with the Survivors, a band whose alumni list includes Harry Connick Jr. and Bobby McFerrin. Featured on the popular CD New Orleans Playground, Charmaine Neville is a Putumayo Kids ambassador and favorite. A division of Putumayo World Music, Putumayo Kids is committed to introducing children to the world through fun, upbeat collections of music.
"We are looking forward to bringing our safe listening message to local New Orleans children on the eve of our Annual Convention," according to ASHA President Sue Hale. ASHA's Convention will be held November 19–21 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center and will feature educational sessions on a broad range of human communication topics, including the risk of hearing loss from personal audio devices. "We're pleased to have the opportunity to deliver an important health message to local children in a fun and engaging way, and hopefully teach them good listening habits in the process," continues Hale.
ASHA will present its Buds performances in collaboration with The Parents' Choice Foundation and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders.
Previous Buds concerts have been held in Chicago, Washington, DC, and Glendale, CA.
ASHA's Listen to Your Buds campaign sponsors include the Consumer Electronics Association, Califone International, and Tune-A-Fish Records.
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About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 135,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders.
Visit ASHA on the Web at www.asha.org.
View all ASHA press releases at www.asha.org/about/news.
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Brief video clips on www.listentoyourbuds.org/budsconcert.php capture the excitement and atmosphere of the previous Listen To Your Buds safe listening concerts.