Four ways to protect your child’s hearing

Hearing loss is usually associated with getting older, but it can happen at any age, including during childhood. What’s more, around 60% of childhood hearing loss is preventable as it is noise-induced.

Here, we’ll look at four practical tips to help protect your child’s hearing so they can enjoy healthier hearing for longer. 

1. Check the volume on your child’s digital devices

If your child listens to music, TV shows or podcasts using headphones, it is important to check what volume they are set to. The volume should not be higher than 60% of the maximum volume and they should ideally listen for no longer than one hour.

To get an idea if the volume is too loud on your child’s devices when headphones are plugged in, play some music through their headphones at the volume they are normally set to and then hold the headphones an arm’s length away from you — if you can still hear the music, the volume is likely too high.

To help prevent the volume creeping up, you can invest in a pair of headphones that have built-in volume-limiting technology. This technology prevents the volume from going above 85 decibels, which can cause hearing damage. Noise-cancelling headphones can also help as they limit how much external noise your child can hear, preventing them from needing to turn up the volume.

2. Make sure your child wears hearing protection

In noisy environments — any environment where the noise exceeds 85 decibels — such as music concerts, firework displays, sporting events and even at home when vacuum cleaning or mowing the lawn, it is important to protect your child’s hearing by ensuring they wear earplugs or ear defenders. 

For ear defenders, you can check their noise reduction ratio (NRR) to get an idea of how much noise they will block out.  

Remember, the louder the noise, the less time your child should be exposed to it to avoid damage to their hearing.

3. Look out for signs of hearing difficulty

Protecting your child’s hearing starts with knowing the early signs of hearing loss so you can take practical steps to better protect their hearing and get them the help they need to improve their hearing and language skills and manage their hearing loss. 

Every child born in the UK will undergo newborn hearing screening. After this, you will need to pay attention to whether your child is showing signs of reduced hearing as they grow. In young children, this may present as delayed speech or difficulty following instructions. In older children, they may not answer when called, require repetition, speak louder than usual and turn the volume up on their phone, laptop or TV. 

If you spot any of these signs, especially if you have a family history of hearing problems, speak to your GP. 

4. Treat ear infections quickly

Ear infections are common in young children and usually affect the middle ear. 

As the name suggests, the middle ear sits between the outer ear (the external part of the ear that you can see) and the inner ear (the part of the ear that contains the cochlea and transmits sounds to the brain). In middle ear infections, also known as acute otitis media and also in glue ear also known as otitis media with effusion, the middle part of the ear is filled with fluid. This causes a reduction in hearing. 

However, persistent middle ear infections can over time lead to a permanent reduction in hearing by damaging the three bones in the middle ear that help transmit and amplify sounds to the inner ear. If your child frequently develops ear infections, see your GP to ensure they get prompt treatment to resolve their infections as quickly as possible.

Supporting your child with hearing loss

If your child is already dealing with hearing loss, you can help them cope better by creating a hearing-friendly home. 

A quieter environment will help them process speech more effectively. Simple changes can make a big difference, such as reducing background noise by turning down the volume of the TV or other devices, and encouraging good communication habits with the whole family (eg facing the person you’re speaking to and speaking clearly and slowly). 

When at social gatherings outside of home, try to seat your child in a quieter area, so they will be better able to follow conversations. You can also let your child’s school know to do the same in a classroom setting.