After 17 years of living and feeding underground, billions of Brood II periodical cicadas have emerged and are filling the air with the strange sound of their mating calls. Male cicadas use drum-like structures on their abdomen called tymbals to create a loud, high-pitched buzz to attract female companions, who respond with a quick flick of their wings together.

While efforts to reform the federal Toxic Chemicals Safety Act continue to inch slowly forward, the state of California has taken a bold regulatory leap into controlling toxic chemicals – at least those found in consumer products.

Every day, we experience sound in our environment, such as the sounds from television and radio, household appliances, and traffic. Normally, we hear these sounds at safe levels that do not affect our hearing. However, when we are exposed to harmful noise—sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time—sensitive structures in our inner ear can be damaged, causing noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Hearing loss happens for many reasons. Some people lose their hearing slowly as they age. This condition is known as presbycusis (prez-buh-KYOO-sis). Doctors do not know why presbycusis happens, but it seems to run in families.

1 in 5 Americans have hearing loss in at least one ear. This is 48 million people and far exceeds previous hearing care industry estimates of approximately 25 million.*****

After a decade of war, America is well schooled on post-traumatic stress, lost limbs and traumatic brain injury, but the most common injury sustained by U.S. troops is literally a silent wound: hearing loss, according to NBC News.