Audiology Takes on Rural Noise at the Tomah Tractor Pull (and Beyond)
UWSHC audiologists and Au.D. students travel to rural Wisconsin each summer for a unique goal: to prevent hearing loss at the Tomah Truck and Tractor Pull. Tractor pulls are motorsports with powerful, modified engines, and they are LOUD! Many people at the Tomah Tractor Pull work on farms and have noisy hobbies such as hunting, but they are not reached by traditional hearing conservation programs. Since 2014, the UW outreach group has handed out approximately 12,500 pair of earplugs at the event. Each year, the group talks with tractor pull attendees and participants to promote healthy hearing habits that extend into their work and other noisy hobbies.
Outcomes
This project takes place at the Dairyland Supernational Truck and Tractor Pull in Tomah, Wisconsin, in June each year. The Tomah Tractor Pull draws approximately 60,000 people, and it is attended by individual of all ages. The high level of noise at the tractor pull puts all attendants and participants at risk for permanent hearing loss. Further, many individuals at the tractor pull have occupational or recreational backgrounds that place them at ongoing risk for noise-induced permanent hearing loss, such as farming, machine work, mechanical work, and hunting. A hearing conservation program at the tractor pull will help prevent permanent hearing loss in a large-number of at-risk individuals.
Focus Areas
Project Leader
Melanie Buhr-Lawler
Clinical Associate Professor
- Department/Unit
- Communication Sciences and Disorders
- School or College
- College of Letters & Science
Counties 1 total
Showing 5 of {{ projectCounties.length }} Showing {{ projectCounties.length }} of {{ projectCounties.length }}
Project Sites 1 total
Showing 5 of {{ projectSites.length }} Showing {{ projectSites.length }} of {{ projectSites.length }}
- {{ site.site_name }} ({{ site.city.city_name }})
- {{ place.site_name }} ({{ place.city.city_name }})