Being a parent involves caring for the happiness of your children and guiding them towards good habits. There are many things you have to stay on top of to keep your child healthy. Dental health, eye checkups, their nutrition intake, their sleep schedule and so much more are your responsibility. Children's hearing health should also be on this list of responsibilities. A majority of childhood hearing loss cases have preventable causes, and it's important to take steps that protect your child's hearing now to prevent any hearing problems later in their life. Here are some tips that you can follow and make your child aware of to protect their hearing.
Teach them when something is too loud
Sometimes children are not aware of when some noise is too loud and harmful for their ears. When you find them listening to something at a dangerously high volume, ask them to turn it down. Tell them when something is too loud so they learn to not raise the volume above a certain level. If you're wondering how to test your hearing or your child's hearing to determine whether they're listening to audio on a high volume, you can keep an eye on if they're able to listen when you call their name from a distance or if they ask you to repeat something frequently.
Buy good quality headphones
These days, children watch and listen to a lot of media on smartphones and other devices. As a result, it is important that they have good quality headphones that don't damage their hearing. Noise cancelling headphones or earphones reduce background or ambient noise and will allow children to listen to audio without cranking up the volume. You will still need to keep an eye on the volume even with a good pair of headphones.
Set volume limits
Hearing loss among the younger population is worsening due to the increasing use of smartphones. You can try setting a volume limit on your child's devices. Most smartphones, laptops, tablets and computers provide the option of setting a volume limit. This will restrict your child from increasing the volume above a certain limit. The recommended volume setting is no more than 70% of the maximum volume.
Give your child hearing protection
If you're attending a concert or a firework show or any other loud events, giving them hearing protection is a good idea. Children can make use of ear muffs or ear plugs during such situations to protect their ears.
Be a good example
Children learn from observing the adults around them. While you encourage good listening habits in your children, you should also follow that advice yourself. Listen to your music at a reasonable volume and wear ear plugs along with your children when going to loud places. Your children will follow your lead and incorporate the habits in their daily lives.
Hearing loss caused by loud noises is preventable. Your children might not be able to recognise the dangers of being exposed to loud volumes for long periods so you should take the responsibility of protecting their hearing. Taking care of hearing health from childhood will ensure that the children have healthy hearing later on in their life as adults.
