Noise-induced hearing loss is an unfortunately common occurrence that is preventable. This type of hearing loss can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life, whether an adult or child. As a parent, it is your responsibility to protect your child’s hearing starting at infancy. When your child is older and is able to understand their hearing, it is important to educate them and teach them about the value of hearing.
With this, teaching your children about the causes and symptoms of hearing loss will enable them to have healthy hearing for life. Here at Central Park ENT, we are committed to working with patients of all ages to ensure they understand how important hearing is and what habits can work against healthy hearing. To learn more about hearing, the different types of hearing loss, or to set up a consultation appointment with one of our Dallas ENT doctors, please contact us today.
The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggests the following in order to better protect children from noise-induced hearing loss:
- Find the source of loud noise and reduce your child’s exposure. This may be the sound coming from a lawn mower, loud music, power tools, or a different source
- Be cognizant of the volume when listening to music. Keep in mind that your child’s ears are fragile and still developing, which means they cannot handle certain volume levels as well as your ears can
- Protect your child’s ears. If going to a concert or in an environment where loud noise cannot be avoided, have your child wear hearing protection. There are many different options on the market today that will protect your child’s hearing and still allow them to experience live music or other noisy events
- Have their hearing evaluated. If you are concerned about hearing loss in your child, have their hearing professionally evaluated by an ENT doctor from Central Park
In addition to these tips from the Center for Disease Control and Protection, we’ve come up with a few additional practices for parents to help their children’s hearing remain healthy:
- Download an app. Today there are numerous apps available for the iPhone and other smartphones that will provide you with the decibel level of any sounds. Having access to one of these apps will allow you to test certain noises to see if they are acceptable for your child’s ears or not
- Listen to them. While it is true that children are not always forthcoming when it comes to talking about things that are bothering them, encouraging routine conversations about all aspects of their health may help you determine if something is wrong
- Listen with them. A good way to tell if the music, movies, or TV shows they are listening to are too loud is simply to listen with them
Taking measures to protect your child’s ears from noise-induced hearing loss as well as educating them about hearing loss is important for their overall health and wellness. To learn more about hearing loss in children or to setup a consultation with an audiologist, please contact Central Park ENT today.