• Archives
  • Products
  • Operative Dentistry
  • Dental Team Communication
  • Practice Management
  • News
  • Research
  • Dental Debates

DentalBuzz: a jolt of current

trends, innovations, and quirks of dentistry

  • Home – Latest Buzz
  • Bloglist
  • Indie Dental Showcase
  • Free Dental Timer
  • Practice printables
  • Podcasts

How’s your hearing?

October 9, 2008 By Trish Walraven 3 Comments

Nice product presentation on the left, don’t you think?

Now what exactly are they? The latest in clear maxillary molar implants?

Wrong. You stick them in your ears. You. The dental professional.  Yes, you, the person who is losing their hearing and doesn’t mind spending about a grand to protect what’s left of your stereocilia.

Not losing your hearing? Then prove it to yourself. Take the test below in a quiet place. Naturally you need to have speakers turned up to about medium to hear all the frequencies. The higher ranges are what are known as the “mosquito” ringtones, which are outside the audible range of people over 30, and often used by the young-uns to send stealth text messages to each other.

There have been a few inconclusive studies published in the dental journals this decade about the concern that high decibel-level noise is an occupational hazard in dental practices. We thought that now would be a good time to gather a little of our own anecdotal evidence, and see how dentists’ hearing stacks up to the general population.

Play     Frequency          Age Range
 8 kHz Everyone
10 kHz 60 & Younger
12 kHz 50 & Younger
14 kHz 45 & Younger
15 kHz 39 & Younger
16 kHz 30 & Younger
17 kHz 24 & Younger
18 kHz 22 & Younger
19 kHz 20 & Younger
20 kHz 18 & Younger
21 kHz 17 & Younger
22 kHz 16 & Younger

Be sure to use your browser’s “back” button to come back to this page each time until you’ve figured out which frequency is your upper limit.

The University of New South Wales in Australia has posted this test if you’d like a more comprehensive hearing exam. And if it looks like your future may be one of geriatric deafness, you might want to give thought to the benefits of a pair of DentalEars.

Filed Under: Operative Dentistry, Products, Research, Technology Tagged With: Dental Ear, dental hearing loss, Hearing aids, hearing test, mosquito ringtones, survey

Comments

  1. admin says

    April 18, 2010 at 12:21 pm

    UPDATE: We just realized that the price of DentalEars has been reduced to $695, which definitely brings this into the value arena. They probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to wear to arena concerts, too.

    Reply
  2. Trish says

    June 1, 2011 at 11:54 am

    Did I hear $595? Or maybe I’ve been damaged by my ultrasonics ;/ DentalEar runs specials from time to time so you may even be able to get a lower price. Sounds like I might be too late getting a pair for myself.

    Reply
  3. Alen says

    November 24, 2018 at 10:03 am

    This is a serious issue in dentistry. Check out a recent podcast on the issue:

    http://www.takacslearningcenter.com/can-you-hear-me-now-the-issue-of-hearing-loss-in-the-dental-profession-with-dr-sean-tomalty/

    Visit http://www.thedoctorsearplugs.com to learn more about the issues that RDH’s and dentists face!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About

DentalBuzz explores rising trends in dentistry with its own slant. The speed at which new products and ideas enter the dental field can often outpace our ability to understand just exactly the direction in which we are heading. But somehow, by being a little less serious about dentistry and dental care, we might get closer to making sense of it all.

So yeah, a tongue-in-cheek pun would fit really nicely here, but that would be in bad taste. Never mind, it just happened anyways. Stop reading sidebars already and click on some content instead.

Recent Posts

  • Off-Label and Totally Legal: What the FDA Won’t Say About Fluoride Varnish & SDF
  • Dentists Rejoice over the Leica Camera Tariffs
  • It’s not OK for your dental practice to use free cloud-based communication
  • Patients ask, “Is it safe to go back to the dentist?”
  • Free “return to work guide” from the American Dental Association
  • Why COVID-19 increases your need for contactless payments
  • A virtual care package from worried dental hygienists
  • Lead Aprons feel so good! Here’s why.
  • What is this $&!% on my toothbrush?
  • The Prophy Jet Challenge
  • How to trick kids into brushing their teeth
  • These identical twins can both be your dentist

Article Archives

Contact Us

Guest columnists are welcome to submit edgy stories that cover new ground (no regurgitations, please!) , or if there's a topic that you'd like to see explored please punch in your best stuff here and see if it ends up sticking to the website.

Follow DentalBuzz on Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Instagram

DentalBuzz Copyright ©2008-2025 • bluenotesoftware.com • All Rights Reserved