Rockville, MD - February 23, 2011 - The 75,000 member organization MENC: The National Association for Music Education is the newest sponsor of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Listen to Your Buds (LTYB) campaign www.listentoyourbuds.org, which educates children about how to use personal audio technology safely.
"Given that MENC's members serve millions of students nationwide, this partnership provides a fantastic opportunity to educate students about the risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening to music," ASHA President Paul R. Rao, PhD, CCC-SLP, says.
"Joining a campaign that stresses safe listening habits fits perfectly with our organization's mission," notes Michael A. Butera, MENC's Executive Director. "Educating a child now about protecting their hearing helps ensure that they can participate in and enjoy music for a lifetime," Butera adds.
MENC is the latest organization to join the LTYB campaign. The Consumer Electronics Association, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, Califone International Inc., Tune A Fish Records, and Music Teachers National Association have also joined forces to promote the LTYB campaign.
About the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA is the national professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 140,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists. Audiologists specialize in preventing and assessing hearing and balance disorders as well as providing audiologic treatment including hearing aids. Speech-language pathologists identify, assess, and treat speech and language problems including swallowing disorders. www.asha.org
MENC: The National Association for Music Education
Through membership of more than 75,000 active, retired, and pre-service music teachers, and with 60,000 honor students and supporters, MENC serves millions of students nationwide through activities at all teaching levels, from preschool to graduate school. Since 1907, MENC has worked to ensure that every student has access to a well-balanced, comprehensive, and high-quality program of music instruction taught by qualified teachers. MENC's activities and resources have been largely responsible for the establishment of music education as a profession, for the promotion and guidance of music study as an integral part of the school curriculum, and for the development of the National Standards for Arts Education. www.menc.org
