World Hearing Day is observed on 3 March every year.
We know it’s important to talk to our children about important issues from a young age – bullying, internet safety, drink driving. We don’t think it is important to talk about hearing health because we think it is an ‘old person’s’ disease. Nothing could be less accurate!
Noise induced hearing loss happens as a result of exposure to harmful noise, regardless of age. Hearing loss in teenagers is 30% higher today than it was in the 1980s/1990s. Damage to hearing is often ‘hidden’ until it is too late to prevent it.
Look for teachable moments about hearing health and safety with your children. In loud situations – passing road workers using a jackhammer – talk about how loud the sound is and how the workers should be wearing ear protection. Model good hearing health by wearing ear protection when operating noisy machinery, avoid going into very noisy places such as gaming arcades and turning down your music in the car or on your mp3 player.
Noise is too loud, when:
• You raise your voice to be heard.
• You can’t clearly hear some-one at arm’s length (three feet).
• Speech around you sounds muffled or dull after you leave the noisy area.
• You have pain or ringing in your ears after exposure to noise.
Tips to protect children’s hearing health:
• Follow the 60/60 rule – listen to music through good quality earbuds or headphones at no more than 60% of the volume for no more than 60 minutes.
• Wear earplugs or earmuffs during noisy sporting activities such as hunting, shooting and dirt-biking.
• Lower the sound setting on your cell phone.
• Magnesium rich foods such as yoghurt, bananas or almonds may prevent hearing loss.
• Before purchasing new toys, listen to them. If the toy sounds too loud, don’t buy it.
• Examine your child’s toys – and remove the batteries or discard the toys if they are too noisy. You can also choose to place heavy duct tape over the speakers on toys that are too noisy.