Dr. Bob: I am very concerned about what I am hearing about sound exposure in children. I see children and teens everywhere with earbuds, I presume listening to music. Or I see children playing video games with earbuds in. My own children have earbuds for when they are in public. What advice do you have so I can preserve their hearing into adulthood?
Answer: You are right to be concerned. In my early days in medical school, I reviewed charts of many adults that were in WWII or the Korean War. So many of them had a characteristic hearing test consistent with noise-exposure hearing loss. That signaled to me that we need to be careful of noise exposure in early adulthood…and now we know that we should be even more careful for our children. I even remember my mother shouting at my brother and me to “turn it down” with our rock-and-roll music!
A recent study suggested that at least 60% of adolescents and young adults exceed the daily noise exposure limit. I think it is safe to assume that younger children have similar numbers, if not greater, of overexposure to noise. Some factors to remember –
- Children have smaller ear canals that can amplify the intensity of sound.
- We need to be worried about the intensity of the sound in addition to the length of exposure.
- Personal listening devices (earbuds, headphones) can accentuate the exposure.
- We should be concerned about events with significant exposure like concerts, firework displays or sporting events. Sporting events in particular these days encourage the crowd to get loud.
- It is estimated that sounds in the 80 to 115 decibel (dB) range are heard for motorcycles, a rock concert, or a movie theater. Whispers measure around 30 dB, and normal conversation is around 60 dB.
- Sounds around 70 dB for an extended time will most likely lead to some damage. Sounds over 120 dB (like a jetliner takeoff or a thunderclap) can cause immediate damage.
So, what to do? The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following –
- If the sound is too loud for an adult, it is definitely too loud for a child.
- “Too loud” can mean raising your voice to speak to someone at arm’s length.
- Reduce volume on TVs, computers, stereos, radios.
- Keep personal listening devices volume to minimal levels when using headphones and earbuds.
- Counsel your children about the hazards of loud sound exposure and the long-term consequences.
- If attendance at events with loud exposure is necessary, earplugs and/or over-the-ear muffs should be worn, especially for young children.
- Always wear hearing protection if in shooting sports.
- Be careful of sound machines for infants. Guidelines for the use of white noise for sleep include 1) The machine should be no closer than 7 feet; 2) The sound should be set at less than maximum setting (and preferably not exceed 50 dB; 3) Parents can consider stopping the sound machine after the infant falls asleep; 4) When parents want to wean the child off the machine, they can simply turn down the volume in stages over a period of weeks.
Exposure to loud sounds are a real hazard in today’s society especially with earbuds and headphones. Let’s be sure to protect our children and other children from harmful exposure.
Dr. Saul is Professor of Pediatrics (Emeritus) at Prisma Health and his website is www.mychildrenschildren.com. Contact Dr. Bob at askdrbobsaul@gmail.com with more questions.