The Story So Far

I've been working on my grant outline for the last week or so and managed to flesh out a couple of the sections. These are ultimate first drafts and need serious editing but I can't edit if I don't have something written down, right?



Objective
The main purpose of this project is to explore the possibility of alternative noise exposure in young adults. Much attention has been paid to personal digital media and music consumption, but we have not been so diligent with occupational noise and the effects of cumulative exposure to sources not labeled harmful by OSHA. If we can identify possible sources or a true cumulative effect, we can warn those young adults who feel monitoring their music consumption is all they need to do to protect their hearing.




Statement of Importance and Relation
Points of Importance:

• Young adults often fall through the cracks of audiologic assessment. Loss that begins after elementary school may go undetected until it has caused a significant disparity or delay in a student's coursework.
• Young adults who feel they are protecting their ears may be falling short in areas other than music consumption (wind noise in the car, noisy work environment, etc.).
• People of all ages could benefit from a study of non-occupational, non-leisure noise exposure; wind on a car window, traffic noise, etc.
• This research opens the door to refute the idea of presbycusis in facor of sociocusis, which would be a more accurate term in many cases.
• Broaching the topic of young adults and hearing loss would help to remove the stigma from both hearing loss and misunderstandings during conversations, and hopefully allow high schools students to seek help with hearing their professors (through assistive listening devices) when they enter college.
• This study would give people the opportunity to adjust their work and home environments to be safer. For instance, if a restaurant owner is unaware that the average SPL in their establishment is 70dB, he or she cannot take measures to reduce noise exposure for the employees. If the owner of the establishment is warned of the dangers of noise exposure, he or she can take measures to reduce the noise, by turning down music, monitoring the levels of 'walkey-talkies', etc.

How does this research fit with your educational and career goals?
I approached Dr. Brockett last semester because I was frustrated with a lack of direction. I have known for a year, now, that research is the place for me but I was unsure how to pursue such a goal in my undergraduate education. I explained my desire to apply for an undergraduate research grant as a way to practice for my future career, and he graciously agreed to help me out. This grant would be instrumental in helping me to achieve invaluable experience for my graduate education and the rest of my life.

Sections Remaining:
Abstract
Procedures/Methods
Timeline for Completion
Cooperation/Collaboration
Dissemination of Results
Literature Cited (This just needs to be brought together, the grunt work is already done.)
Budget and Justification

I will try to flesh out the Procedures and Timeline sections this weekend. I'll need Dr. Brockett's help for fleshing out the Dissemination of Results section... Maybe a videoconference is in order?