Children's Hearing Protection

Protect your child’s hearing

In the first years of life, a child's hearing is particularly sensitive to loud noise, whether it’s intermittent or constant, excessively loud music can mean long-term damage to the hearing for your child. Noise is arguably one of the most pervasive environmental pollutants faced by children and adults. Virtually everything we do involves noise and in many instances the noise is either annoyingly loud and or hazardous to our hearing. Examples of when you should wear hearing protection. Children and teenagers are exposed to harmful noise levels in a variety of settings and activities;

  • Fireworks displays
  • Concerts and music festivals
  • Sporting events
  • Airplane travel
  • Helping with gardening (from lawn mowers, leaf blowers, etc)
  • Paint balling etc

Developing good habit’s from childhood

Teaching about the hazards of loud noise, is key to preventing noise induced hearing loss, which is irreversible and one of the leading causes of hearing loss. Safe listening habits should be instilled at an early age for example if your child uses earphones or headphones, keep the volume down. A rule of thumb if somebody else can hear your music it’s too loud and you are in danger of damaging your hearing. If you need to shout to be heard, it is very likely that the noise you’re exposed to is too loud and it may be damaging your hearing.

Other simple strategies use your fingers to quickly plug your ears for unexpected loud sounds, like a sirens or alarms. Ringing in the ears after exposure to noise is also a sign of excessive sound levels. As children get older, they are often less inclined to want to wear hearing protection. Here are some suggestions for helping them develop and maintain the habit: Establish rules requiring the use of hearing protection for certain activities. (Be sure to set a good example by wearing hearing protection yourself during these activities!)

  • Let them choose the style of hearing protection
  • Some might prefer ear plugs that are discreetly hidden under hair or hats.
  • Others might prefer ear muffs that make a fashion statement.