Noise-Induced Hearing Loss in Children: The Silent Epidemic

For many of us, hearing loss isn’t something that we need to worry about until we’re much older; age-related hearing loss, known as presbycusis, is still the number one cause of hearing loss challenges. However, hearing loss can affect anyone, regardless of their age – even children. 

For many children, hearing loss challenges are genetic; two to three out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with some level of hearing loss. But for some kids, hearing loss can come suddenly via chronic ear infections, disease, accidents, and, most commonly, noise exposure. 

When you think of noise-induced hearing loss, chances are you imagine a sudden blast of noise, like an explosion or a crash, that leaves you with ringing ears (like in the movies). While that is possible for noise-induced hearing loss causes, quite often it’s more gradual – most people acquire it from continued exposure to noise over extended periods of time. 

How long do your children spend with headphones on each day watching videos or listening to music? If your kids are gamers, how much time is spent with their headsets on, listening to loud explosions in their games? 

Volume + Duration = Damage 

We measure sound in decibels (dB). Even a few decibels above 85 dB (which, for reference, is about the same volume level as a blender) can start to damage our hearing with too much exposure. 

Apple AirPods Max, one of the best-selling pairs of earphones on the market, can produce a maximum volume of 100 dB – just 20 minutes of continued exposure to max volume can cause damage. 

The recommendation that we need to make to our kids is to keep the volume at a safe level, and while no child wants to be told what to do, educate them on the importance of their hearing and how blasting music or games can damage it. With proper education on the importance of their hearing, many kids will start to understand why you’re nagging them about their headphones! 

Concerned about Your Child’s Hearing? 

As fellow parents, there’s nothing more fragile or scary than the health of our children. Our pediatric hearing care services put your child first, making sure they’re as comfortable and stress-free as possible while we test their hearing.