The series entitled Advances in Noise Research has developed from the European Commission Concerted Action Programme on Protection Against Noise (PAN), which is a project within the EC Fourth Framework Biomedical and Health Research Programme in the Occupational and Environmental Health Area.

Ageing processes aside, excessive noise exposure remains the commonest cause of damage to hearing. Despite a voluminous body of knowledge in this area, health education, legislation and hearing conservation programmes have failed to have a satisfactory impact. This applies in both the developed and the developing world. The factors governing the development of permanent noise-induced shifts in the threshold of hearing are diverse and poorly understood, leading to controversy amongst both doctors and lawyers.

This is the first comprehensive textbook for trainees in audiological medicine, a growing subdiscipline specializing in the diagnosis and medical treatment of hearing disorders.