Hearing loss is one of the most common health conditions in America, and not all of it is preventable.
But people of all ages — including children and teenagers — often suffer noise-induced hearing damage.
This could be prevented if they reduced their exposure to excessively loud noise from TVs, electronic devices, power tools, concerts, sporting events and other sources.
That’s the message from the audiologists and speech therapists at the Charity League Hearing and Speech Center at Children’s of Alabama.
The hearing and speech team is dedicated to providing expert diagnostic and rehabilitative speech-language and audiology services for pediatric patients.
The team members “show up every day to make a difference for a child,” says Audiology Supervisor Missy Kemp.
If spoken language is the parents’ goal for their child, she and her team want to help the child achieve that goal. “We like to see a child who is hearing impaired be able to talk, go to school and be successful just like their hearing peers,” she says.
Noise-induced hearing damage occurs when we “listen to something too loud for too long,” Kemp says.
The CDC estimates 12.5% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 have hearing loss caused by excessive noise.
This damage is permanent. “Once you lose hearing, it doesn't come back,” Kemp says.
Children’s offers these tips for parents to prevent noise-induced hearing loss.
Children should wear earplugs or ear muffs when they’re in a noisy setting, like a fireworks show. This includes infants, toddlers, older children and adolescents.
Parents should monitor the use of loud toys by children, since many products exceed safe noise levels. They can make the toys safer by removing the batteries or putting tape over the speakers.
Children should listen to their personal technology devices safely, especially when using earbuds or headphones. “We recommend keeping the volume at about 60%,” Kemp says.
People can download a sound level meter to their smartphone, allowing them to determine if a sound — from a toy, for example — is too loud, she says.
The Charity League Hearing and Speech Center has a staff of about 50 at four locations, including Childrens on 3rd, Children's on Lakeshore and Children’s South.
Such assessments can be critical, because children with untreated hearing loss often experience academic, social and behavioral problems.
For details, call 205-638-3680 orgo to childrensal.org/services/hearing-and-speech.
