All About Bluetooth Hearing Aids
Do you remember the hearing aids your parents or grandparents used to
By: admin | March 15, 2018
Technology has a big presence in the lives of children and teens today, and whether they are watching cartoons on an iPad, playing video games or listening to music on their phones, this tech-time adds up to a lot of hours with headphones on. A study conducted in 2015 revealed that over half of 8-to-12-year-olds listen to music every day, and nearly two-thirds of teenagers do.
Listening to music is great way to get energized, release stress, and process emotions, but it can also lead to permanent hearing damage when the volume reaches dangerous levels. Many parents are now turning to volume-limiting headphones, which promise to restrict volume to a safe level. These headphones can certainly help, but some have been proven ineffective. If you are a parent who is concerned about your child’s listening habits, the best thing you can do is test their headphones out yourself to make sure they are safe, as well as talking to your children about the importance of safe listening habits.
When it comes to volume and hearing damage, there’s a simple rule: the louder the sound, the shorter the time you can safely listen to it.
The sound level heard by our ears is commonly measured in decibels, but this is where it gets tricky–for each increase of 10 decibels, the sound level perceived by our ears doubles. So, 100 decibels is actually twice as loud as 90 decibels, and this is why in the upper volume levels hearing damage can occur so quickly.
On an Apple music player such as an iPhone, the top volume is 102 decibels, the same volume as a leaf blower, a power lawn mower, or a helicopter at 100 feet away. At this level, only 5-10 minutes of listening is safe for adult ears, and damage can occur in children’s ears even more rapidly than that.
Keeping the volume at 70 percent, or 82 decibels, has been ruled safe for eight hours a day, but in children an even lower volume level is advisable. 80 percent volume, or 89 decibels, is safe for only 90 minutes.
Keep in mind that ears can adapt to higher volume levels over time, and it is possible that your child or teenager may not even realize that the higher volume may be harmful to their hearing. Remember also that the inner ear of a child is more sensitive to noise, and thus more susceptible to noise-related hearing damage.
While the increasing rate of hearing loss among children and teens is worrying, parents and educators around the world are making positive strides in educating children about safe listening. Especially with young children, monitoring is key, but as kids get older they need to know how to safeguard their own hearing–and to understand why they should. Here are some steps you can take to protect your children’s hearing.
-always wearing ear protection in noisy environments
-turning down the television and music players when they are too loud
-taking listening breaks (and explaining why you are doing so)
-covering your ears when exposed to sudden loud noises
-talking about the importance of listening to music at a safe volume
Our team provides comprehensive hearing health care for kids and teens. Establish safe hearing and good hearing health practices early on – schedule an annual hearing test for your child with us today!
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