Noise is all around us. We’re exposed to noise on our commute to work, or when we walk past the construction site on the corner. Even the noise levels in our favorite restaurants and bars can be very loud. Our kids are surrounded by even more noise. Their schools can be very loud, and many of our kids play in bands or on sports teams where noise levels are high. If you’re a parent, you’re probably wondering how loud is too loud for kids?
Noise Induced Hearing Loss
To understand how loud is too loud, we need to talk about noise induced hearing loss. This hearing loss is caused by exposure to very loud noises. Experts say that any sounds over 85 decibels (dB) can cause hearing loss. This is about the volume of heavy traffic, a loud window air conditioner, or the volume inside a crowded restaurant. Sounds that are 85 dB will harm your hearing and lead to hearing loss.
Noise induced hearing loss happens even faster when sounds are louder. For example, sounds that are around 100 dB can harm your hearing in a short amount of time. Driving an ATV, operating a chainsaw, or going to a school dance will expose you to sounds of about 100 dB. Extremely loud noises, like attending a rock concert or seeing fireworks, can damage your hearing in just a few minutes. The louder the sound, the sooner your ears will be damaged.
Kids are more sensitive to sound than adults, so you need to take extra precautions to keep your kids’ hearing safe.
Teach Your Kids Safe Listening Practices
Are your kids constantly listening to music with earbuds or headphones? Unsafe listening is one of the leading causes of hearing loss in kids. That’s because when your kids listen to music with earbuds and turn up the volume to high, the volume can exceed 100 dB! Kids listen to music for hours every day, and they’re putting their hearing at risk.
It’s important that you teach your kids safe listening practices, or use parental blocks to keep the volume at safe levels. Teach your kids about hearing loss and the importance of listening safely. A good rule of thumb is to never turn the volume up higher than 60%, and to take a break from listening every 60 minutes.
When your kids keep the volume at 60%, it will be under 85 dB, and they can listen safely for a few hours each day. When they listen at 80%, the volume is around 90 dB, and they can damage their hearing in less than an hour. Listening at 100% often tops 100 dB, and at this volume they can damage their hearing health in as little as 10 minutes!
Teach your kids that it’s not a good idea to use their music to drown out background noise. Turning up the volume to block out other sounds can blast very loud music right into their ears and cause hearing loss. Instead, you can give them noise cancelling headphones to block out background noise, or encourage them to take a break from listening when they’re in a noisy place.
Hearing Protection for Your Kids
Hearing loss is permanent. Sometimes it only takes one exposure to very loud noise to cause noise induced hearing loss. Have a conversation with your kids about hearing loss, and teach them how to wear hearing protection. Foam earplugs are easy to wear and they’re very light, so you can put them in your kid’s backpack. Teach your children how to properly insert foam earplugs, and make sure they know when they should wear them.
If your kid has a smartphone, they can even download a decibel reader app on their phone. They can test the volume of the sounds on their commute to school, in the school hallways, or in their music class to find out just how loud their environment really is.
Get a Hearing Test
If you’re worried that your kids may have noise induced hearing loss, either from noisy activities or from unsafe listening practices, call us to schedule a hearing test. We provide hearing services for your whole family, and you and your kids can get a hearing test.