For Kids, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss is Preventable

In 2015, the World Health Organization estimated that 1.1. billion young adults and teenagers were at risk of permanent hearing damage. There’s no denying that in the past decade, earbuds and headphones have become more ubiquitous in younger populations, thanks to the innovations in portable electronic devices such as smartphones, MP3 players, and tablets.

Additionally, as young adults attend bars, nightclubs, sporting events, and live concerts with dangerously high levels of sound, their hearing is made even more vulnerable.

The American Speech Language Hearing Association has recently launched an initiative in six Philadelphia public schools to bring awareness to this issue. Listen to Your Buds brings celebrity musicians to elementary schools to discuss the importance of protecting their hearing.

Hearing Loss Prevention in Children

Education about hearing loss prevention in children is especially important as it could foster a new generation of young people who are warier of the effects of continued use of earbuds and headphones.  

Noise-induced hearing loss is a growing concern, and it may have a huge effect on children as they grow, interfering with verbal acquisition and socialization.  Unlike any other forms of hearing loss, noise-induced hearing loss is completely preventable.

If you are a parent, there are many ways to protect your children’s hearing. There are apps available that you may download onto smartphones and tablets which allow you to control volume levels as well as set timers for listening.

Most hearing specialists recommend the 60-60 rule: 60% volume for no more than 60 minutes a day. Sounds that clock in at 85 decibels or above have the potential to permanently damage hearing, after just one hour. If your child has been exposed to loud sounds, make sure their ears take a break.

Another option is to use noise-canceling headphones, rather than earbuds. Noise-canceling headphones eliminate a lot of the background noise in an environment, which means you don’t have to crank the volume up high to hear music and other audio.  

If you’re attending concerts or sporting events with your child, it is important to bring ear protection. In recent years, you may have seen celebrity mom Gwyneth Paltrow with her children at their father Chris Martin’s Coldplay concerts, complete with protective hearing gear. ASHA’s concert series in Philadelphia area schools promotes this same form of safety when it comes to listening to music.

The Impact of Hearing Loss in Children

If you believe your child is experiencing hearing loss, it is important to schedule a hearing test immediately. You may find information on benchmarks for childhood development based on hearing and speech here. 

Leaving any level of hearing loss untreated could seriously affect your child’s future academic and vocational performance. According to Joy Peterson, manager of audiology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, “Children with hearing loss may have difficulty with all areas of academic achievement, especially reading and math. Children with mild to moderate hearing loss achieve one to four grade levels lower, on average, than their peers with normal hearing, unless appropriate management occurs.”

She also addresses social issues related to untreated hearing loss in children, which leads to “social isolation and poor self-esteem.” Peterson notes that hearing loss “can even impact later vocational choices. All of this points to the importance of preventing noise-induced hearing loss as well as early identification of any type of hearing problem.”

Her advice to parents? “In addition to reinforcing the messages we give to kids, parents need to model safe listening behavior themselves. As with everything else in life, children look to their parents for guidance. It’s also important that parents educate themselves about the signs of hearing loss so that any hearing issue can be addressed early – when the negative consequences can be minimized through speedy intervention.”

Making Hearing Health a Priority for Your Kids

From modeling healthy hearing behavior to turning down the volume to keeping an eye out for the signs of hearing loss, there is a lot we can do as adults to prevent hearing loss and prevent the negative consequences of untreated hearing loss in children.

As with all other medical check-ups, consider scheduling an annual hearing test as a part of our children’s health routines. At Orange County Physicians Hearing Services, we offer comprehensive hearing tests for children and we provide services for pediatric hearing loss. Contact us today!