Phone App That Measures How Loudly You Listen to Your Music!

There are plenty of sound meters in the market for iPhone and Android smartphones that tell a user how  loud the surrounding noise is. Many of these apps are free.

However, rather than recording the loudness of the surrounding environment, there is now a new phone app called Safe and Sound (only for Android phones) that measures the decibel level of the sound emitted from headphones and gives the user a clear indication of how loud their music really is. Furthermore, it also records the user's listening history and alerts them when they are close to their daily recommended dose of noise exposure.

It is free as well!

Listening to loud music has become an increasing concern as hearing loss is being seen at earlier and earlier ages with increasing need for hearing aids. Complaints of tinnitus is also present.

Download the app here.

Developer website.

Dr. Chang Quoted in National Press Release

Dr. Chang has been quoted in a recent national press release regarding the new Sermo iPhone app.

Sermo is a physician only online forum where medical quandaries are discussed and advice requested from physicians by physicians. Dr. Chang was recently contacted by Sermo for an interview regarding the new iPhone Sermo app. In the press release, he is quoted:

"The ability to consult with my colleagues in real-time, from the patient's bedside or my exam room, addresses an unmet need and will be of tremendous benefit, particularly for urgent clinical cases when I need an immediate response," said Christopher Y. Chang, MD, Fauquier ENT Consultants. "Similarly, the capacity to instantly post images and explanations about a patient case and share this information with colleagues through Sermo Mobile helps me provide the best care possible to my patients."

 Read the full press release here.

Sermo iPhone App Review

Sermo is an online physician-only forum where doctors ask other doctors for advice. It's where we post particularly thorny/difficult medical issues we encounter in our patients (no patient identifiers of course) and pick the brains of thousands of other doctors across many different specialties throughout the Unites States for assistance.

For example, as an ENT, I can post a particularly unusual patient presentation that has me stumped... for example a weird rash on the face... and post it on Sermo. Hopefully, I would than get responses from not only other ENTs across the United States but also input from dermatologists, pathologists, internal medicine, pediatrics, etc.

This kind of multi-brain access has been invaluable, especially since being a solo ENT, I do not have the benefit of having a colleague to easily bounce questions off of.

Until recently, no iPhone app was available to access this forum... until now. Mind you, only physicians are allowed access.

I am fortunate to be one of the first to test out this new iPhone app when Sermo contacted me last month regarding my interest (which I was) and here are my initial impressions when the app was released July 5, 2011.

Overall, it is a functional app that is usable in all the ways I would use it on the desktop.

The homepage is where theoretically, all the most popular destinations on Sermo is shown.

Among the homepage buttons is "Followed" which are postings that I either am following or actively participating in.  It would also be nice if there's a button to direct me to my specialty postings rather than clicking on "Posts" (which lists all postings in chronological order) or "Popular" (which lists the most popular postings in terms of activity) and than selecting "Specialty" which is the 2nd most common destination for me. "History" lists all postings or messages that I recently visited.

Adding a new posting appears to be fairly straightforward with two options... One which is triggered by taking a picture (iConsult) of an abnormality (like a CT scan or a rash) as well as one without the need for a picture (Create Post). The iConsult button is a leap forward better than what the desktop can offer. With iConsult, I can use the iPhone to take a picture, add a brief background history, and post whereas with the desktop, you would have to take a picture, transfer to the computer, logon to Sermo, and add the photo manually when creating a new post. The iConsult has resulted in the addition of a new section on Sermo... when I last checked, there's already been 5 postings to this section.

With any postings, I can add a comment easily or view a brief bio by selecting on the commenter's user handle.

All in all, a great free app currently available for the iPhone only.