Meet Jolene!
In the Safe or Dangerous module, you learned about the risk of hearing loss from listening to headphones at too high of volume for too long. Jolene is an educational mannequin designed to measure the sound levels of personal music systems.
A Jolene is constructed using a fashion mannequin and a sound level meter wired to a silicon ear. Music listeners can place their headphones/earphones on Jolene and estimate the decibel level and exposure time of their music listening to determine if they listen at a safe or dangerous level.
Jolene makes appearances at schools, universities, scientific meetings, health fairs and other community events. Jolene always attracts a crowd and is helpful for promoting noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus prevention. Jolene has also been used as a research tool to study the beliefs and listening practices regarding personal music systems.
Everyone is genuinely curious about Jolene and this tool is fantastic for boosting the outcomes from the Dangerous Decibels program. Just bring a Jolene to the lunchroom or some other school event. Students of all ages will be drawn to this activity.
For older students, building a Jolene is an opportunity to create and learn about hearing loss prevention at the same time. For younger students, teachers, parents and grandparents may help build a Jolene. Detailed instructions are provided in the Jolene Cookbook and hundreds of Jolene’s have been built all over the world.
Jolene is in all 50 states and 31 countries around the world!
How Loud is Your Music?Make a poster to advertise your Jolene event.
Jolene Travel GuideProvides guidelines for how to use Jolene, information about the pros and cons of different types of headphones & earbuds, and topics for conversation about safe or dangerous listening habits.
Jolenes come in all colors and students have a great time creating them in their own original way. There is even a Jolene at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland!