Rescue Your Family from Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

The National Institutes of Health estimates that overexposure to loud noise has permanently damaged the hearing of 5.2 million American children between the ages of 6 and 19 (that's 12.5%!). What's more, in a shocking study released by the World Health Organization this spring, it was revealed that as many as 1.1 billion teenagers and young adults are at risk of developing hearing loss from listening unsafely to audio devices or from the high levels of noise exposure at concerts or sporting events.

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) can occur suddenly or over time. Excessive sound levels (anytime you have to shout to be heard only a few feet away) can also cause tinnitus, a constant ringing in the ears. The effects of excessive noise exposure are cumulative, so a little damage on several separate occasions can add up until the negative effects are too disruptive to ignore.

Untreated hearing loss can also impact other aspects of life like language acquisition, communication, learning and social development. It's also been linked to other health concerns like heart disease, depression, and obesity. Moreover, the perpetual symptoms of tinnitus can hinder concentration, disrupt sleep, and cause anxiety.

However, NIHL is preventable, and there are safe practices you can teach your children to help keep them hearing their best:

• Encourage them to wear earplugs in loud environments: Earplugs can reduce sound levels by 20-30 decibels. Give them to your kids to wear at concerts, sporting events, and other loud environments. Many hearing healthcare providers offer custom-fit earplugs.
• Enforce the 60/60 rule: Teach your kids not to turn the volume up higher than 60%, and set a listening limit of 60 minutes. Many electronics let you set a volume cap that's lower than its actual sound capability. Set this to 60%.
• Buy them over-the-ear headphones: Earbuds are more dangerous than over-the-ear headphones because they're situated next to the eardrum. When your kids ask you to buy them new headphones, opt for the over-the-ear style.
• Download monitoring apps on their devices: There are a lot of smartphone apps out there that monitor and warn about volume levels. Many of them offer password-protected parental controls.
• Give their ears time to recover: People's ears need 18 hours of quiet after time spent in a loud environment in order to recuperate. Take some time the next day for the whole family to engage in silent activities like reading or putting a puzzle together.

By teaching your kids to follow these guidelines and safe listening practices, their risk for noise-induced hearing loss will decrease dramatically.

EarQ is a nationwide network of independent hearing healthcare providers that utilizes innovative business and marketing practices as well as national public awareness efforts to advocate for excellence in patient care. Through its 1,400 hearing healthcare provider locations nationwide, EarQ helps provide greater access to quality hearing healthcare services and products.