The Dangerous Decibels project is a public health campaign designed to reduce the incidence and prevalence of Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) and tinnitus (ringing in the ear) by changing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of school-aged children.

The project is built upon an innovative collaboration between basic science researchers, museum educators, civic leaders, Oregon and Southwest Washington schools and volunteers in a unique public/private partnership. Partners are the Oregon Hearing Research Center at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), in affiliation with the Portland VA National Center for Rehabilitative Auditory Research, and the American Tinnitus Association.

Dangerous Decibels has three free-standing, but interlocking, components:

1. Museum exhibitry - an exhibition at OMSI opened on June 1, 2002.
2. Educational outreach - classroom programs for Kindergarten through 8th grade students, teacher education and teaching materials for schools and communities.
3. Epidemiological and evaluative research - data collected for evaluation is currently undergoing statistical analysis. Epidemiological research will be ongoing.