Hearing Loss & Children: Five ways parents can help prevent hearing loss in their children

By: Dr. Dawn H. MacMillan, Audiologist 
It's hard to believe, but school starts locally in just about two weeks. Like so many other parents, I've been running around buying school uniforms and shoes because my kiddos have outgrown almost everything this summer. We've been busy with school supply lists and finishing all the back to school tasks required before August 5th when they return to school. For my little one who will begin kindergarten, I had to verify she had her required hearing test to enter school  (funny to me considering her mama is an Audiologist!) and was up-to-date on her vaccinations. All this running around and list-checking got me thinking about my pediatric patients. How my back to school lists mirror the lists of the parents of my pediatric patients with hearing loss but they have more things they need to do to prepare their little ones for the new school year. It got me thinking about childhood hearing loss and what I can do to help prevent hearing loss in not only adults, but also children. 
According to research, 40 percent of hearing loss is caused by genetic factors. The remaining 60 percent of factors are preventable according to the World Health Organization. Some preventable causes of hearing loss at a young age include infections, birth complications and exposure to toxic medications among others. Loud noise too can be a contributing factor to hearing loss.Below we discuss some of the ways in which hearing loss can be prevented. Symptoms such as tinnitus (or ringing in the ears) may be the first sign of hearing loss, not difficulty hearing. Parents should be mindful that children may not say they have hearing loss, rather they may report ringing in the ears and/or muffled hearing as the first sign of hearing loss. They may play the TV too loud, as well as their personal electronic devices. It is up to us as parents to educate our children on noise-induced hearing loss and how to prevent it. Below are five ways to help prevent hearing loss in children. 

Practicing Safe-Listening Habits

Teaching your child on the various causes of hearing loss such as loud music and the importance of protecting themselves from such is critical. It is imperative to discuss hearing loss and the fact that noise-induced hearing loss is preventable. How it is irreversible. How wearing hearing aids later in life may help, but it doesn't restore hearing lost. By discussing types of noises that cause hearing loss, it creates an awareness of the dangers these sounds possess. By discussing hearing loss and its causes, you are setting your child up for a lifetime of awareness at a young age. Much like putting suncreen on our kids and encouraging them to continue when you aren't there to apply it anymore, practicing safe listening habits is something to establish from an early age. Practical ways of achieving this include turning down the television or other electronic devices when the noise is too loud and teaching your kids to cover their ears when they are abruptly exposed to loud noise in the environment. Encouraging schools to also raise awareness of hearing dangers to students is another important step. Band and music teachers can teach their students about safe listening and ways to preserve and protect their hearing so they can enjoy the music for years to come. 

Buy Noise-Limiting Headphones

Despite the fact that young children can be very noisy,  kids are more sensitive to noise as compared to adults. They also tend to turn up the volume so high that it might in the long term affect their hearing--on video games, headphones, car stereos. Exposure to sound levels above 85 decibels can be particularly harmful to your child. Experts also advise parents not to let their children listen to headphones for more than two hours, even if the sound is limited and can’t go beyond 85 decibels.Most noise-limiting headphones nowadays come with a child-friendly design and are comfortable to wear. Many modern smart phones have parental controls that allow you to impose an upper limit on your kids' electronic devices. It is important to get children noise-limiting headphones that they are attracted to since this ensures that a large percentage will use these headphones even when you are not around.

Noisy Toys

Toys which are too loud can hurt your child’s ears. The damage is not noticeable at first but may affect your children’s hearing when they are middle-aged.The damage from these toys is cumulative, and this makes them very dangerous. Even though most of these toys when operated in the right way are harmless, children often misuse them. Their arms are shorter than an adults. That means toys are closer  to your child's ears than they may have been designed for use. You need to screen these toys first by holding them a distance of about a foot from your face and listen to them.If you wince at the noise, they are not safe.You should either put tape over the speakers to reduce the noise or keep them away from your child. You can also report such toys to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Annually, the Sight and Sound Association publishes a list of noisy toys which may cause permanent hearing loss ahead of the holidays. Before holiday shopping for your children, take a look at this list and heed the warning that these toys may be harmful to your child's hearing. 

Insist & Invest in Hearing Protection--EVERY time.

Sometimes certain aspects of the environment are unavoidable. Fireworks around the fourth of July. Yard tools such as blowers, lawnmowers, and weed eaters. Noise from concerts too can be inevitable.In these cases, you can get your child noise canceling headphones. These reduce noise from places such as concerts, places with loud music and occasions where fireworks are used.Other types of hearing protectors can also be used.Earmuffs too are a great investment, and they ensure that your child’s delicate ears are protected from loud noises in the environment. Earmuffs with child-like designs are available. You should discourage your children from using earbuds or headphones as hearing protection as the level of music they mist listen to in order to hear above the equipment noise is most certainly loud enough to cause permanent noise-induced hearing loss. 

Vaccinations to prevent childhood illness

Vaccinations are a hot topic and have been for years. Regardless of which side you're on, vaccinations do prevent several childhood illnesses known to have hearing loss as a potential side effect. Measles, mumps, and rubella are the leading causes of hearing loss worldwide. You need to vaccinate your child early enough against these diseases to prevent hearing loss. Early vaccination also prevents the spread of these diseases to other children who have not been or cannot be vaccinated due to various health conditions. While many choose not to vaccinate their children due to the risk of vaccine injury or high-risk for vaccine injury, there is no doubt that vaccinations do prevent these serious illnesses. 

Ototoxic Medications

Ototoxic drugs are can damage the ear or cause balance disorders. At the moment there are about 200 known ototoxic drugs both prescription and over the counter in the world.The damage posed by these drugs may either be reversible through therapy and other times they can cause permanent damage. Before a medication is prescribed to your child, you need to discuss with your doctor the possible effects it may have on your child. If the condition is severe and administration of these drugs cannot be halted, the audiologist can advise on ways to manage the effects of the drugs. Often times these medications are prescribed to help with a life-threatening infection or illness, such as cancer. You should of course heed the warning of your physicians who prescribe these medications but beware of their potential side effects and ask if other non-ototoxic medications can be prescribed and be just as effective. 
It is never too early to talk to your kids about hearing protection and ways to prevent hearing loss.  We are pleased to offer a full line of hearing protection products in our office from custom earplugs to instant-fit ear muffs. Please contact us to learn more about what may be right for your child, (912) 748-9494. 
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