Kids + Headphones
How to keep your child’s ears happy and healthy with headphones on.
BY HEJIRA CONVERY, KINDICARE
If you’re worried that your child is using headphones too much, or too loudly, then we’re hearing you!
Loads of kids listen to music, play games and watch shows with their headphones on, and although noise from TVs, tablets and other tech isn’t all bad, you do need to be knowledgeable when it comes to noise.
There’s a big difference between safe and unsafe sounds, and if you’re looking for some clarity around healthy headphone use, then listen up!
Alison King is Principal Audiologist for Paediatric Services at Hearing Australia and she’s here to explain how you can protect your child’s sensitive ears and precious hearing.
This is important, because hearing loss is a real risk for lots of young people.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says nearly 50% of 12- to 35-year-olds living in countries like Australia, ‘Are exposed to unsafe levels of sound from the use of personal audio devices.’
And recent research suggests that more than one billion teens and young adults might be at risk of hearing loss, because of the way they use headphones, earphones and earbuds and attend loud music venues.
This isn’t good news for that age bracket, and Alison says headphone use can be a worry for children, too.
She explains that, “There is currently no scientific evidence around the ideal age for children to start using headphones. However, regardless of the child’s age, headphone use can be cause for concern if a child is using them too often and if the volume is up too high.”
As a guide, she says, “A sign that the volume is up too loud is when you can hear what your child is listening to when they’re wearing headphones.”
This kind of harmful noise needs to be avoided.
Alison says sounds that are too loud or loud sounds that last a long time can damage the sensitive structures in your child’s inner ear, causing noise injury, and these sounds don’t necessarily have to hurt to cause harm.
She says, “Loud sound doesn’t have to be physically painful to cause hearing damage,” and although one big burst of noise can hurt a person’s hearing, the damaging effect of noise exposure generally builds up over time, just like sun damage does.
Fortunately, there’s lots you can do to protect your child’s ears.
Alison says it’s never too early for children to learn good hearing habits, and you play a big role in this by:
- Role-modelling good hearing behaviours, e.g. by wearing ear protection in noisy situations.
- Supporting your child to make healthy hearing choices, e.g. by asking, “Do you think you should take a headphone break to give your ears a rest?”
- Taking practical steps to protect your child’s ears, e.g. by prioritising headphone safety.
Alison says there are several things you can do to keep headphones safe.
These include:
- Monitoring your child’s daily headphone use and setting usage limits.
- Activating features that limit the sound output, to reduce the risk that they’ll turn the volume up too high.
- Using noise-cancelling headphones, which limit the external noise that’s coming in, so your child doesn’t have to ‘drown it out’ with a higher volume.
- Selecting headphones that fit well, so noise isn’t leaking in and volumes can stay safe.
Alison says, “Volume-limiting headphones can also be a good option” and Puro BT2200 Kids Headphones are one model that come kitted out with kid-friendly features.
Your local Hearing Australia centre will be able to provide other headphone suggestions, and Alison says independent product reviewers, like Wirecutter or PCMag, may also help you select some quality headphones for your little listener.
It’s also possible to set volume limits directly on your child’s device by:
- Looking for the ‘Volume Limit’ control under ‘Settings.’
- Downloading an app which enables you to set a limit on device volume and/or listening time.
- Using the Apple Health app to monitor your child’s Headphone Audio Levels, if you’re an App Store family.
Headphone rules are also a good idea.
It’s easy for your kiddo to get caught up in endless listening content, but it’s important that they cast their headphones off completely, a lot of the time, and give their ears some air.
Your growing child needs plenty of opportunities to communicate with you and everyone else, and Alison says, “Regular breaks are important, and just as you may limit your child’s screen time, you might like to consider limiting their headphone use.”
You also need to keep an ear out for unsafe sounds generally.
Even the most family-friendly events (like home movie nights and firework displays) can get super noisy, and it’s important to protect your child’s hearing by:
- Keeping the volume down wherever possible.
- Educating your child about noise exposure, e.g. by teaching them that moving away from a loud noise makes it softer.
- Investing in a pair of protective earmuffs for noisy situations.
Examples of earmuffs for young children include Alpine Muffy Kids, and Ems for Kids work well for babies aged 0 to 18 months or kids aged up to mid-teens.
Also, though most of us aren’t down with decibels, it’s good to know that repeated or lengthy exposure to sounds at, or above, 85 decibels can cause hearing loss.
This is approximately the noise a vacuum cleaner makes, and if you’re not sure how many decibels you’re hearing, you can use an app, like SoundMeter, to check.
This is all really sound advice, and if you are worried about your child’s hearing, don’t hesitate to talk to a professional.
Your family doctor or an audiologist can provide advice if your child is doing things like:
- Asking people to repeat themselves
- Not responding when their name is called
- Having trouble telling where a sound is coming from, and/or
- Misunderstanding what’s being asked of them.
These are all signs of hearing difficulties in younger kids, and if they’re pulling or tugging at their ears, this may indicate ear congestion.
If your child’s speech and language isn’t developing as you’d expect, it’s also worth getting their hearing checked.
The Sound Scouts app makes it easy to do an online hearing test (it’s for ages 4+), and Hearing Australia is a great source of information and advice, whether you visit a local centre, call 134 432 or check their website.
