Kate Larson, a third-year student in the AuD      program at the University of South Dakota (top row,      third from the right), took on a leadership role in      the "Lucy" project, according to Marni Johnson,      AuD, assistant professor of audiology (top row, first      from left).

Larson, a third-year student in the AuD program at the University of South Dakota (USD), was part of a group of students assigned to create "Lucy," a mannequin that would educate other students and the general public about the dangers of hearing loss due to excessive volume in iPods and others listening devices.

"Lucy" is actually the descendant of the Dangerous Decibel project's "Jolene," a mannequin that has been used as a research and education tool since 2006. When "Jolene" proved successful, the National Hearing Conservation Association funded the production of free, downloadable instructions on how to make your own "Jolene." Aware of this, Marni Johnson, AuD, assistant professor of audiology, brainstormed the idea creating a similar mannequin at USD.

"She downloaded a 'Jolene' book online, gave us a budget and sent us on our way," summarizes Larson.

After obtaining the mannequin off of eBay, Larson and the group set about the process of creating Lucy. "The first task was removing the plastic ear from the mannequin," says Larson. "We replaced it with a silicone ear, then obtained a sound-level meter."

Larson says her husband, a mechanical engineer, even helped out with some aspects of assembling the necessary equipment to make Lucy functional.

"It was a group project," says Dr. Johnson. "But Kate really took a leadership role in the group by hosting meetings at her house and showed a real interest in the project."

The mannequin was designed for elementary-school students but can be used by anyone. "I don't think a lot of people realize just how loudly they are listening to these devices," says Larson.

From an audiologist's perspective, Larson says the project has taught her some new means of innovation in terms of getting out the message about hearing conservation. Talking about preserving your hearing is important but doesn't go as far as a simple demonstration like the one Lucy can provide.

"As an audiologist, it's my job to make sure people aren't damaging their hearing-and the best way to treat hearing loss is to be sure it never happens," she says. "Hearing aids and other equipment can correct hearing losses, but it's much easier to just preserve the hearing that you have."

Larson adds, however, that the challenge is to get this message across in a way that makes sense to children. "You can tell kids not to expose their ears to certain noises-but that doesn't mean anything to them," she explains. "This is much more concrete, it's something they can look at and actually see the difference between their volume level and an acceptable level."

After graduation, Larson hopes to continue working in a capacity that allows her to help children. "I worked as a teacher for the deaf for 4-5 years before getting into audiology-so I've always known I wanted to work with kids," says Larson. "I saw how important it was to the kids I taught to receive good audiological services. Sometimes in rural states like South Dakota that can be hard to find."

As a former schoolteacher, as well as someone who wants to focus on helping children in her audiology career, she understands the importance of crafting your message to this particular audience. Working on the Lucy project has helped Larson learn a new approach to education while gaining a greater understanding of how to reach her audience.

Rob Senior is managing editor at ADVANCE and can be reached at rsenior@advanceweb.com