On Wednesday, October 18th Jon Burton, Senior Lecturer in Entertainment Engineering, joined colleagues from across the entertainment sector as guests of Jeff Smith MP and the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) at the Houses of Parliament to help launch the Listen for Life Campaign.
Jon and his colleague, Associate Professor Adam Hill, have been active in raising awareness of the need for improved education in this field. Currently involved in developing HELA (Healthy Ears, Limited Annoyance), an international certification for all on noise control and hearing safety awareness, Adam and Jon are working with the NTIA through the Listen for Life Campaign alongside continuing work with the World Health Organisation and their Make Listening Safe initiative.
Jon Burton with members of Enter Shikari at the NTIA launch event at the Houses of Parliament
Jon’s background as a touring live sound engineer has given him a unique insight into many of the issues presented by live music performances. Jon met up with colleagues from audiology, concert promotion, health professionals as well as musical artists, to help begin to raise awareness of the increasing problem of hearing health. Hearing problems can have a massive impact on the individual, not just in terms of hearing but mental health and life expectancy, alongside the multi-million-pound effect on the economy.
Adam, Jon, and the University of Derby Electro-Acoustics Research Lab will be contributing to this field through continuing research alongside developing tools to help educate people about hearing health.