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Noise is a low priority of the U.S. government. In fact, the Reagan Administration closed the Environmental Protection Agency's noise-control office in 1982 and dropped noise-emission labeling on such items as power tools and lawn mowers. Hearing experts call for a return of noise-emission information as well as new warning labels on audio equipment that can produce dangerously high decibel levels.
The ultimate hope, says Dr. Patrick Brookhouser of Boys Town National Research Hospital in Omaha, is that people will realize "when you lose hearing you lose, to some degree, one of our most vital attributes, the ability to interact with our environment." In other words, Americans should be making the most noise about noise itself.