Westminster, CO - University of Northern Colorado Professor Deanna Meinke, AuD., has received the "Michael Beall Threadgill" Award from the National Hearing Conservation Association (NHCA). Established in 1985, the Michael Beall Threadgill Award honors individuals who have made a significant commitment to the growth and continuing excellence of the NHCA.
"Deanna Meinke's passion to prevent hearing loss from noise exposure has benefitted NHCA tremendously, but also her work has implications for the workers and employers of America who contend with hazardous noise on a daily basis," said Susan Griest, NHCA President. "Deanna's enthusiasm to teach kids, parents, educators, and others about noise and hearing is contagious and will no doubt help shape the attitudes about hearing safety in the future."
Dr. Meinke has practiced hearing loss prevention as a clinician, a consultant, an educator and a researcher. She currently is an Assistant Professor of Audiology and Speech-Language Sciences at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, CO. Her research interests include distortion product otoacoustic emissions, early identification of noise-induced hearing loss and the prevention of noise-induced hearing loss across the lifespan. She is board certified in audiology by the American Board of Audiology, clinically certified by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Meinke recently served as NHCA President and Past President and chairs the NHCA Task Force on Children and Noise, and serves on the expert panel of hearing conservationists for the Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Conservation Award.
Dr. Meinke is a strong advocate of hearing loss prevention education for children and young adults. Much of her research centers around early identification of noise-induced hearing loss in youth and young workers;hearing loss prevention training and educational outreach, especially related to health communication theories. Dr. Meinke co-authored NHCA's "Crank It Down: Noise, Hearing Loss and Children" practical guide, and has forged key relationships with other influential organizations such as the Dangerous Decibels program, a public health campaign designed to reduce the incidence and prevalence of noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus amongst school-aged children.
Under Dr. Meinke's direction, NHCA partnered with the American Academy of Audiology (AAA) to institute the DiscovEARy Zone at annual AAA conventions. Dr. Meinke also lead NHCA's collaboration with the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Marion Downs Hearing Center, University of Northern Clorado, and Oregon Health & Science University , to co-sponsor in 2006 a national conference titled, "Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Children at Work and Play".
Dr. Meinke was presented the "Michael Beall Threadgill" award at the NHCA's "Explore the World of Hearing Loss Prevention" conference in Orlando, Florida, on Saturday February 27, 2010.
About the National Hearing Conservation Association [NHCA]
The mission of the National Hearing Conservation Association is to prevent hearing loss due to noise and other environmental factors in all sectors of society. NHCA provides networking, resources and professional development opportunities to improve skills, practices and services for over 600 members. NHCA's membership includes audiologists, researchers, students, industrial hygienists, educators, professional service organizations, safety professionals, medical professionals, engineers, audio professionals and others who have dedicated their work to the advancement of hearing loss prevention. For more information about the National Hearing Conservation Association, visit us online at www.hearingconservation.org.
