Patient and Family Services

Pediatric Audiology

Smart Ways to Reduce Your Child's Risk of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss -Teach your child to be aware of and avoid harmful noise. Your child can be exposed to harmful noise at school, at home, and in many other settings. Commonly used tools such as power lawn mowers and snow blowers can cause hearing loss, as can riding motorcycles and snowmobiles. -Know what kinds of situations can generate harmful noise levels, and help your child to avoid these situations whenever possible. -If you know your child is going to be exposed to harmful noise, get hearing protectors, such as earplugs or earmuffs for him or her. (Cotton balls or tissues stuffed in the ears don’t offer much protection.) When used correctly, hearing protection can significantly reduce the level of sound that reaches the ear. -Minimize your child's total daily exposure to noise. Noise exposure and the damage it can cause build up over time. The potential for damage to your child's hearing increases with the total amount of time he or she spends exposed to noise. -Control the volume when you can. Don't buy noisy toys, appliances, or tools when there are quieter alternatives. Reduce the noise in your child's life by turning down the volume on the stereo, television, or car radio. -Do not wait until your child notices hearing loss to start protecting him or her from harmful noise. Once noise-related damage to the ear is done, it can’t be reversed. However, if your child already has some noise-related hearing loss, it is not too late to prevent further damage.

Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Prolonged exposure to noise is one of the most common—and most preventable—causes of permanent hearing loss. It may develop suddenly or gradually, depending on the source and intensity of the noise. It usually develops slowly and without pain or symptoms. And it can be temporary or permanent, depending on the extent of the damage that’s caused to the ear. You or your child may not notice that he or she has a problem until serious, irreversible damage has already been done.

Symptoms of Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Repeated exposure to loud noise is one of the most frequent causes of permanent hearing loss. It can sneak up on your child, usually developing slowly and without pain or other symptoms. And you and your child may not even notice that he or she is having a hearing loss until it is severe. Symptoms may include:

Causes of Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Noise exposure is cumulative and can cause damage over long periods of time. Even moderately loud sounds, if listened to long enough and often enough, can cause gradual damage to the ear that eventually may result in hearing loss.

Damaging noise can be found anywhere. Sounds that your child is exposed to on a regular basis at school, at home, at work and at play are more often the cause of gradual hearing loss than a sudden, extremely loud noise (such as an explosion or gunshots).

Both the loudness of sound and the length of exposure to sound determine whether the sound can be harmful. Recreational and day-to-day activities are often overlooked sources of harmful noise. High-volume music and power tools (such as chainsaws or electric drills) are more-obvious sources of potentially damaging noise, but repeated, unprotected exposure to the noise of lawn mowers, household appliances (such as blenders and vacuum cleaners), and vehicles (such as snowmobiles and motorcycles) can be just as damaging.

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Types of Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Noise can affect your child's hearing in numerous ways and may lead to problems such as:

Diagnosing Noise-Related Hearing Loss

As with other hearing disorders, the diagnosis of noise-related hearing problems may be based on:

Treating Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Noise-induced hearing loss is usually permanent and cannot be reversed. Hearing aids and assistive listening devices often prove helpful in treating this type of hearing loss. However, every precaution should be taken to prevent further damage. Avoiding loud or prolonged exposure to noise is the best solution. But when this is impossible or impractical, hearing protection should be used.

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Preventing Noise-Related Hearing Loss

Noise-related hearing loss is preventable. The surest form of prevention is to keep your child out of situations where he or she can be exposed to loud noises or even moderate, prolonged noise. When noise exposure is unavoidable, high quality hearing protection (earplugs or earmuffs) should be used at all times.

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How much noise is too much noise?

Any sound that’s loud enough and lasts long enough can lead to hearing loss. An easy way tell if noise may be potentially harmful is to pay attention to warning signs. A sound may be harmful if:

The chart below gives some examples of various noises, their loudness levels measured in decibels (dB), and points at which hearing damage can occur.

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