Kids and Headphones: How Loud is Too Loud?
A 2015 study has revealed that over half of 8- to 12-year-olds listen to music daily, and nearly two-thirds of teenagers do. And it’s becoming clear that many of these young people are listening to music in their headphones at unsafe levels, an activity which could be permanently damaging their hearing.
The world is a noisier place than it used to be, and many children try to drown out background noise by turning up the volume louder, which contributes to the problem. Brian Fligor, a pediatric audiologist, has recently spoken out about the damaging effects of headphones on hearing: “We are seeing pockets of young people who have worse hearing than you would expect, much worse hearing than you would expect,” he said. Fligor added that, at this moment in time, an estimated one billion people are at risk for noise-related hearing loss because of their portable listening devices.
But it’s not all bad news. Parents, doctors and educators have begun taking action and spreading the word about safe listening practices. Read on to find out what is being done, and what you can do as a parent to protect those precious little eardrums.
What Constitutes Safe and Unsafe Listening?
Sometimes avoiding damaging sounds is a matter of common sense–most parents would never dream of taking a young child to a loud concert and standing in front of a speaker, for instance.
But what about when hazardous noises are harder to spot, like the ones going from your child’s headphones directly into their ears? There is not, as of yet, a mandatory maximum volume restriction for headphones sold in the United States, so it is up to parents to do their best to monitor their children’s listening, keeping in mind the volume-to-duration formula, and these facts:
-Keeping the volume at 70 percent, or 82 decibels, is safe for eight hours a day.
-80 percent volume, or 89 decibels, is safe for only 90 minutes.
-Prolonged exposure to any noise above 85 decibels can cause gradual hearing loss.
–Exposure to 100 decibels (about the volume of a power lawn mower) is safe for just 15 minutes.
-At top volume, portable devices can produce sound levels from 97 to 107 decibels.
-Noise at 108 decibels is safe for less than three minutes.
The “Dangerous Decibels” Program
Dangerous Decibels, founded in 1999 by the Oregon Health and Science University, is an educational program which visits schools to teach children about the hazards of loud sounds, and the rules of being a good listener.
Packed with fun, scientific activities that teach students about the physics of sound, these classroom programs are working to educate and empower young people, giving them the tools to protect their hearing for the rest of their lives.
Sharon Sandridge, the audiologist who runs the program for the Cleveland Clinic tells students, “It only takes one exposure to excessive sound to cause damage to your ear…we like to say that sound ages our ears.”
How Can Parents Protect Their Children’s Hearing?
While the rising rates of hearing loss are worrying, there are a lot of things parents can do. Keep in mind that the inner ear of the child is more sensitive to noise and may be susceptible to hearing loss for noise exposures that are safe for adults. Here are some steps you can take to safeguard your children’s hearing:
- Listen to the headphones yourself to see how loud the music is. If you have difficulty hearing someone at arm’s length with the headphones on, the level is probably greater than 85 decibels.
- Remember that the damaging effect of loud music is cumulative. Limit the amount of time your child listens to headphones, and insist that he or she take listening breaks every hour to allow the hair cells in the inner ear to rest.
- Children often wear headphones in noisy places, such as cars, cafeterias, and planes, and will turn the volume up to compensate. Look for headphones that both cancel ambient noise and limit volume, with a maximum volume limit.
- For young children, noise-canceling headphones are a better option than earbuds, which place sounds closer to the delicate structures of the inner ear.
- Supervision is essential, even when your child is using headphones with a set volume limit. “Eighty-five decibels isn’t some magic threshold below which you’re perfectly safe,” Dr. Fligor said. Consider downloading an app that controls the volume on your kids’ devices.
For more resources, check out the Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s educational site and the Oregon Health and Science University’s site http://dangerousdecibels.org/. Monitor your kids’ hearing with annual hearing tests! Contact us at Desert Valley to schedule one today.
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Las Vegas, NV 89106
Phone: 702-605-9133
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