Los Angeles - Jan 9, 2012 - As part of its 2012 NAMM Winter Show activities, the House Research Institute (HRI) will host Uncle Joe Benson of Los Angeles' KLOS on Jan. 21 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The radio announcer and entertainer will be on hand to greet attendees while discussing the importance of maintaining healthy hearing and hearing loss protection.

Since 1980, Uncle Joe's voice has been heard by millions of listeners across Southern California, and his "Off The Record" music/interview program is syndicated on more than 90 stations nationwide. As a radio personality on KLOS, his broadcasts reach nearly three million people across southern California.

"Healthy hearing is a topic that deserves much broader attention, especially within the music community," commented Benson. "We are happy to help put the spotlighton the topic of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) to educate folks not only on how fragile our hearing is, but also on the measures we can take to protect it and preserve it."

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is usually painless, progressive, permanent, and completely preventable. It happens when a person is exposed for too long of a time to sound pressure levels of 85dB or more, resulting in damage to the sensorineural (hair) cells of the inner ear. It can be the result of exposing ears to a sudden, intense impulse noise like an explosion or gunfire or extended or repeated exposure to loud machinery and recreational activities, such as loud music and video.

According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 36 million American adults report some degree of hearing loss; an estimated 26 million of them between the ages of 20 and 69 have a high-frequency hearing loss caused by too much exposure to loud sound.

The House Research Institute, formerly the House Ear Institute, is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for people with hearing loss and related disorders through scientific research, patient care, and the sharing of knowledge. Institute scientists research the auditory system, at the level of function, as well as at the cellular, molecular and genetic levels. The organization also explores the neurological interactions between the auditory system and brain, and studies ways to improve auditory implants, diagnostics, clinical treatments and intervention methods.