Does money make you happy?  Economists think so - the concept of 'utility' assumes that economic activity represents people consuming in ways that best supports their happiness.  And yet, high sales of Backstreet Boys CDs prove that this cannot be true.  What's going on here?

Happiness is a difficult thing to study scientifically

A study in the latest JAMA using data from two nationally representative surveys indicates that hearing loss among U.S. adolescents increased by about 30 percent in a 12 year period ending 2006, with 1 in 5 adolescents having hearing loss in the 2005-2006 results.

Hearing loss is a common sensory disorder, affecting tens of millions of people in the United States. Adolescent hearing loss is not well understood but some risk factors, like loud sound exposure from listening to music, may be of particular importance to both adolescents and parents.