Workers from low-caste communities endure stigma and hazards as they clean sewers and septic tanks.

Police are searching for suspects who opened fire during a holiday weekend block party in Baltimore that killed two people, wounded 28 others

Festival season is in full swing, and thousands of music lovers will soon be flocking to Glastonbury, ready to revel and soak up the sounds. But can all those loud songs and thumping sound effects be detrimental to our hearing? “Attending a concert may give you more than you bargained for,” says Dr Deborah Lee, from Dr Fox Online Pharmacy. “A recent 2022 BMJ study showed one billion people around the world aged 12-34 are at risk of noise-induced hearing loss. With 24% of young people found to have unsafe listening practices with personal music devices.” She adds that 48% were attending noisy venues, such as nightclubs and concerts, at least once a month without noise protection. Dr Adam Hill, associate professor of electroacoustics, University of Derby, says: “While festivals are, for many, one of the most enjoyable features of the summer, care must be taken to avoid over-exposing yourself to high sound levels, as this could result in long-term negative social and health impacts. You need to ‘enjoy responsibly’,” Hill adds. How does noise exposure damage hearing? Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is one of the most common causes of hearing loss. Our hearing depends on the function of tiny hairs inside the cochlea – a snail-shaped organ in your middle ear, explains Dr Lee: “Sound waves cause the fluid in the cochlea to reverberate, resulting in the movement of these very fine hairs. This generates electrical impulses, which lead to the perception of sound in the brain.” She says there are around 15,000 of these specialised hair cells in each cochlea. Once they have been damaged, they cannot regenerate. “We are all exposed to noise every day, but it’s loud noises above 85 dB that are likely to cause hearing loss,” notes Lee. “This could be a sudden explosion, or continuous exposure to loud noise, such as attending a concert, working in a noisy factory or listening to a personal music device at high volumes.” What are the signs you’ve been exposed to too much noise? There are a few tell-tale signs you’ve been exposed to too much noise at a festival. One of them is tinnitus. “If you have ringing in your ears after attending a festival. This could persist for one or two days after the event – and may become permanent after repeated exposures over many years,” says Dr Hill. Decreased sensitivity to sound is another thing you might notice. “Things sound quieter/muffled,” says Hill. “This usually takes one to two days to return to normal, but may become permanent after repeated exposure over many years.” He says you may also have difficulty understanding what someone is saying to you, especially in a noisy environment, and difficulty telling different sounds apart, like identifying multiple instruments when a band is playing. What can you do to protect your hearing at festivals? “Use earplugs. Ideally custom-made earplugs, which is what musicians use,” says Lee. “Cotton wool or foam rubber earplugs are ineffective. High-fidelity earplugs are a good option. These filter the sound without reducing the quality and provide ear protection.” This is especially important for babies and children at festivals – ear defenders are available to help protect their sensitive ears. Lee adds: “Take regular breaks away from the noise. For every 3 dB above 80 dB, the time you can spend exposed to the noise without it damaging your hearing is halved. “It’s safe to listen to noise at 80 dB for up to eight hours, so at 83 dB this time frame is reduced to four hours. If you do the maths, at the average concert, hearing damage could set in after just five minutes!” She suggests taking breaks such as going to the loo, getting a drink, or taking a walk away from the main body of the noise at regular intervals. And lastly: “Don’t stand within three metres of a loudspeaker.” What can you do if you’re already concerned? Regular festival goers may already have hearing concerns on their radar. “The best thing you can do is to go get your hearing tested,” advises Dr Hill. “This will give you an indication of whether you have any issues already.” If you enjoy going to festivals and other live music events on a regular basis, he says it would be wise to invest in some suitable reusable earplugs: “High quality earplugs will reduce the effect of the musical content equally, so it sounds the same but at a lower level.” If you are involved in the music industry in any way (even if you are a student), Hill suggests making use of the Musicians’ Hearing Health Scheme. He adds: “You can get a hearing test and high-quality bespoke earplugs for a significant discounted rate.”

Today's USMNT news includes Tyler Adams being linked with Manchester United. Yunus Musah has supported Vinicius Junior after the Brazilian suffered terrible racist abuse in La Liga. Also, Gio Reyna could become a Bundesliga champion this weekend if his Borussia Dortmund side defeats Mainz.USM...

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A smiling Alex Murdaugh appeared in court on Thursday to face a string of financial fraud charges – in what marks his first court appearance since he was sentenced to life in prison for the murders of his wife Maggie and son Paul. The convicted killer attended a status conference before Judge Clifton Newman in Beaufort County on Thursday morning where his financial crimes trial date was set for 27 November. The case will focus on the millions of dollars he stole from the family of his dead housekeeper Gloria Satterfield – part of the 101 state charges over his alleged financial crimes. Two former friends and alleged co-conspirators in his financial crimes also appeared in court on Thursday – former Palmetto State Bank CEO Russell Laffitte and former attorney Cory Fleming The court appearance comes as the deadline is looming for the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office to respond to a bombshell motion filed by Murdaugh’s attorneys last week in which they demanded a new trial and accused Colleton County Clerk of Court Rebecca Hill of pressuring jurors to return a guilty verdict. The AG’s office had 10 days to respond to this motion – giving them until Friday. Read More Smiling Alex Murdaugh appears in court in shackles as trial date set in financial fraud case An Alex Murdaugh juror gained infamy with a dozen eggs. Now she’s at the centre of his bid for a new trial Will Alex Murdaugh be granted a new trial? Legal expert weighs in Alex Murdaugh accuses ‘fame seeking’ court clerk of jury tampering at his murder trial

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Elon Musk has said X, previously known as Twitter, will fund the legal bills of any user ‘unfairly treated’ by an employer for their activity on the social media platform. Posting on the recently-rebranded site on Sunday, he added there would be ‘no limit,’ encouraging users to ‘please let us know’. Musk has been vocal about his commitment to freedom of speech in the past, once defining himself as a ‘free speech absolutist’. Shortly after acquiring Twitter, he tweeted: “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated”. The post has already received over 18,000 replies to his post, with Musk responding to just one so far from right-wing account ‘Libs of TikTok’. Chaya Raichik, who operates the account, claims US content creator Kara Lynne was fired by her former employer for following her and other right-wing accounts on Twitter. Reaching out to Lynne directly, Musk replied: “Kara, is that accurate?” The billionaire CEO’s interactions with the ‘Libs of TikTok’ account, noted for its anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ content, have been criticised in the past. In December, he was accused of amplifying anti-trans bigotry when he liked a tweet from them. Earlier this week X Corp, Musk’s firm that owns X, launched a lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH). The move came after the group published research criticising the platform for an increase in hate speech under Musk’s leadership. X Corp has accused the CCDH “unlawful acts” to “improperly gain access to its data”. The not-for-proft organisation researches and campaigns against online hate, and is often cited by the press. In response to the lawsuit, CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed said: “Elon Musk’s latest legal move is straight out of the authoritarian playbook – he is now showing he will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticizes him for his own decisions and actions.” “CCDH has no intention of stopping our independent research – Musk will not bully us into silence.” Read More X marks the lawsuit: Elon Musk's social media company sues nonprofit highlighting site's hate speech Flashing ‘X’ sign removed from Twitter’s headquarters in San Francisco Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent, report says Mark Zuckerberg reveals his 4,000 calorie diet and large McDonald’s order Meta’s Twitter rival Threads sees ‘steep drop in daily users by 80 per cent’ Twitter takes down giant ‘X’ sign on roof after a week following city investigation

SpaceX has signed a deal to launch up to four of Europe's flagship navigation and secure communications satellites