The young are not llstening to their elders, and perhaps the, ever have. But now it happens that, with many of them, the reason may be medical.
The young aren't listening because they can't hear. Just as nagging parents have long suspected, topologists (hearing specialists) now report that youngsters are pilling dear is a result of blasting their ear drum with electronically amplified rock in roll.
The hearing speclalists used to worry about loud noise as a cause of deafness only in industrial and military situations.
They knew that eight hours of daily exposure; year in and year out, to the proverblal boller factory, would eventually result in permanent hearing loss. Rivers were particularly susceptible.
Then they learned that the same thing happened to aviators. After the advent of jets, the hazard applled to ground crews at airport and flight-deck personnel aboard aircraft carriers-hence the introduction of insulted noiseabsorbing plastic earmuff.
In discotheques and rock in roll joints, the trouble is not much in the instruction themselves or the close quarters. The blame goes to the electronic amplifiers.
An old-fashioned military band; playing a march in Ramat Park generated as much sound. But the sound was not amplified and was dissipated in the open air.
A trombonist sitting in front of a tuba player might be a bit deaf for an hour or so after a concert; then his hearing returned to normal.
A microphone hooked up to a public address system did not appreciably increase the hearing hazard what he did was muitiple microphone and speakers, and the installation of in international microphone in such instruments as quitars and bouzaukis.
What is the difference between an oldfashioned military band on in one hand and discotheques and rock n roll joints on the other?
A. one is old-fashioned while the other is modern B. one produces sounds for marching, the other for disco C. one has drums, the other has guitars D. one produces amplified sounds, the other does not.
