Hundreds of people were in close proximity to the deafening bomb blasts at the Boston Marathon, and many have been treated at local hospitals for serious ear injuries. But hearing specialists say an untold number of other people could be suffering from hearing loss or ringing in their ears, called tinnitus, though they did not seek out medical help immediately.

Eight patients enrolled in a Mindfulness-Based Tinnitus Stress Reduction (MBSR) program experienced improvement in their symptoms and in how they perceived their disease, according to a Reuters Health news report.

Hyperacusis is a condition that causes a person to be unable to tolerate everyday noise levels without pain. This condition may be initiated by a disease, by an acoustic trauma event (loud noise exposure), or induced by certain drugs. Hyperacusis Research is the only non-profit dedicated to researching noise-induced pain, which is an under-recognized consequence of overexposure to noise.

From the Seattle Seahawks NFL football team website: “Sunday, November 27th 2005 in a dramatic overtime win, the Seahawks defeated the New York Giants who were called for 11 false start penalties and 3 missed field goals — Courtesy of the 12th MAN’s vocal support.

Earlier this fall, Seattle Seahawks fans at CenturyLink Field broke the world record for loudest stadium crowd with a brain-rattling 136.6 decibels. Weeks later, Kansas City Chiefs fans at Arrowhead Stadium upped the antie with 137.5 piercing decibels of their own.

Youngsters could be risking permanent hearing loss by listening music in loud volume, a latest study reveals. The UK study showed that around 60 percent of youngsters are risking their hearing power to loud music.

The Hearing Loss Association of America believes seniors with hearing loss should not have to scrimp and save, or go without basic needs, to just be able to hear. Seniors on fixed incomes, seniors who depend on Social Security and Medicare, seniors who don’t qualify for Medicaid or who live in states that don’t provide hearing aids through Medicaid, should not have to choose between hearing and their other basic needs.

Flu vaccination prevented an estimated 6.6 million influenza-associated illnesses, 3.2 million medically attended illnesses, and 79,000 hospitalizations during the 2012-2013 flu season, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).