Pre-Reading Activities

A: Discussion

Work in pairs and answer this question.

Which of these activities can damage your hearing?

• working in a factory.
• listening to your teachers.
• listening to loud music at home.
• riding a motorbike in the city.
• listening to your brother snoring.
• going to a rock concert.
• going to an orchestral concert.
• standing near an airplane.

B: Vocabulary

The words below are from today's article. Check that you understand their meanings.

• infection - a disease
• inflammation - a condition in which part of the body becomes red, sore and swollen because of infection
• infancy - the state of early childhood
• recurrent - something happens regularly
• decibel - unit for measuring the relative loudness of sounds
• middle ear - part of the ear which conducts sound

Reading Activities

A: Finding the main idea

Read the article and then decide which of the following best summarizes the article's main idea. (Do this as quickly as you can.)

1. Headphones cause hearing loss.
2. Headphones and loud rock music cause hearing loss.
3. Headphones and ear infections cause hearing loss.
4. Headphones and workplace noise cause hearing loss.
   
   Suggested answer 3. Headphones and ear infections cause hearing loss.

 

Headphones up risk of hearing loss NEW YORK, Jan 06 (Reuters Health) -- Young people who suffered from frequent ear infections as children may risk hearing loss if they use personal stereo headphones, according to a study published in The Lancet. Previous studies have shown that regular listening to loud music using stereo headphones is a risk factor for hearing loss in young people. However, in the new study of more than 1,000 young men entering the army in France, it appeared that those who suffered hearing loss not only used personal stereos but also had a history of repeated episodes of middle ear inflammation, or otitis media, in infancy or childhood. The study analyzed the hearing ability of men who went to rock concerts and discos twice a month or more, men who worked in noisy occupations, and men who listened to personal stereos. While concerts and loud workplace noise did appear to affect hearing, the researchers found that the major factor influencing hearing loss in this group of men was use of personal stereos. And analysis of the men's medical histories indicated that the harmful effect of the headphone usage was "strongly dependent on the presence (or) absence of repeated episodes of otitis media in infancy or childhood,'' according to the report. The researchers note that previous studies showed that regular personal stereo use was linked to an average hearing loss of about 3 decibels, a level of "limited clinical importance.'' But in those men who had a history of ear infections, the use of personal stereos "was associated with a mean extra hearing loss of 11 (decibels) relative hearing loss.'' The team also reports an increased risk of acute acoustic trauma and frequent tinnitus in this group of men. They conclude that their results "show the importance of curing otitis in childhood,'' and recommend that young people who have a history of recurrent ear infections "be warned that personal stereo use is a risk factor for deafness.'' SOURCE: The Lancet 1999;353:35. Article Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. Lesson © 1999 English To Go limited

B: Checking Information

Below is a summary of the article. It has 7 mistakes. Compare it with the article and write the corrected words or phrases in the space provided. The numbers correspond to the numbers of lines in the summary of the article. For example, you could write: In line #2 "they" is wrong. The correct word should be "she."

Summary

(1) Young men who have a history of ear infections may risk hearing (2) loss if they use personal stereo headphones. A new study
(3) reveals that those who suffer loss used personal stereos and
(4) had inner ear inflammation known as otitis media in childhood.

(5) The study was of young men and women entering the French
(6) army and examined those who went to rock concerts and had
(7) noisy parties or used personal stereo headphones. It found that (8) concerts and loud workplace music do not cause any hearing
(9) loss. The most important factor was the personal stereo.
(10) Personal stereos have been shown in other studies to be
(11) connected to a hearing loss of about 3 decibels but this study (12) found that men who used personal stereos and had suffered
(13) from childhood ear infections had hearing losses of 8 decibels.


Suggested answer (1) women not men, (3) middle not inner ear (5) men only not "and women" (7) noisy occupations not parties (8) noise not music (8) do appear to affect hearing (13) 11 not 8

C: Point of View

What is the research team's opinion of headphones? Do they disapprove of them?

Discuss your answer with someone else. What evidence can you find to support your answer?


Suggested answer The study recommends that young people who had histories of ear infections should realize that personal stereos could lead to deafness and that they are a risk factor for deafness.

D: Language

Part 1

Find a verb from the text that means:

1. to make something clear (Paragraphs 1-3)
   
2. to seem that (Paragraphs 1-3)
   
3. to examine (Paragraphs 1-3)
   
4. to discover (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
5. to suggest something (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
6. to record (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
7. to make something known by publishing it (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
8. to advise (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
9. to reach a decision based on results (Paragraphs 4-6)
   
   Suggested answer (1) have shown (2) ...it appeared (3) analyzed (4) found (5) indicated (6) note (7) reports (8) recommend (9) conclude

Part 2

Click on the verb with the correct meaning in the sentences below.

1. The study noted / analyzed / recorded the hearing ability of young men entering the French army.
2. This study noted / recommended / discovered that men with otitis media in childhood who used headphones had hearing losses of 11 decibels.
3. The study reports / recommends / shows that young people who had recurrent ear infections as children should be aware that using headphones can cause deafness.
   
   Suggested answer 1. analyzed 2. discovered 3. recommends