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Between 1988-94 and 2005-06, the percentage of teens with hearing loss jumped by about a third, from 15% of 12-to-19-year-olds to 19.5%.

Diet and nutrition, as well as exposure to toxins, might be factors. Living in poverty is also associated with greater risk of hearing loss among youngsters, as children in lower-income families may not be getting adequate nutrition to support proper development of the auditory system.

Difficulty in hearing among youngsters has been linked to slower language development, poorer performance in school and lower self-esteem. And because social skills are dependent on language, previous studies have found that even slight hearing loss in elementary and high school students can result in progressively lower scores on communication tests and greater anxiety.

That's the idea behind this year's "Be Healthy Delaware: Get Up & Move!" fitness challenge, presented by the Delaware Center for Health Promotion and The News Journal. The goal is for participants to log 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week for 10 weeks. Collectively, the goal is 5 million minutes in motion.All types of activities will be considered -- and encouraged -- including walking, running, biking, swimming, dancing, basketball, tennis, hiking, indoor rock climbing, even mowing the lawn. The key is to find activities that will get you moving."We're trying to get away from that word 'exercise' because it connotes some negative thoughts -- that you have to be athletic, super fit, young," said Marianne Carter, a registered dietitian and director of the Delaware Center for Health Promotion at Delaware State University in Dover. "People do have set ways of thinking when they hear the word 'exercise,' so using the term 'movement' tends to be friendlier."