Ensuring Child Safety Around Earphones

Where and when does your child tend to use their earphones most? Is it on the way to school, on public transport, or at home? This can make a difference in the kind of earphones that is most suitable for their hearing safety. When out and about, many children tend to turn up the volume to block out environmental noise. If that’s the case, a pair of noise-cancelling earphones may be better, allowing them to listen at lower volumes without being disturbed by external noise. An in-ear wireless headset will be best when engaging in physical activity as they don’t move easily as compared to over-the-ear headsets.

Unfortunately, an increasing number of children nowadays suffer from premature hearing loss. This is due to constant exposure to loud environmental sounds, and is not necessarily limited to earphones. For instance, traffic noise, crowd sounds at large-scale events and fireworks can all contribute to noise exposure. To this end, you may wish to limit your children’s earphone usage to minimize their exposure to loud noises. Setting an age-appropriate limit and rewarding your child with earphone time is a good way of ensuring they do not come to use them too often.

Can you hear what your child is listening to when they have their earphones in? If so, that’s a sure sign that they have the volume turned up too high. Educate your child on the healthiest volume they should be setting their earphones to and explain the signs of hearing loss that can occur. That is, if they are old enough. For younger children, another strategy may need to be adopted.