Taking Care of Your Hearing

It’s a question pediatrician Dr. Phillip Mote asks at every well visit. “What kind of music are you listening to, audio books, etc., and are you doing that with headphones versus through a speaker, especially now with the popularity of more AirPods, for instance, that go in the ear versus headphones outside the ear.“
The World Health Organization’s report on hearing found that more than 50% of people aged 12-35 listen to music at volumes that pose a risk for their hearing. Dr. Mote said 80 dB is a good threshold. “And once you get above that threshold, that has been associated with hearing loss or impacting your hearing longer term, depending on the amount of time for exposure. So, as you get higher, so say 120 decibels, that could damage your hearing in a couple minutes, versus at 80 decibel level, it would take multiple hours to have long-withstanding damage.”
Younger children’s ears are more sensitive than adults. “That's why it's super important to be aware of that, especially at younger ages, because you don't want to cause lasting damage, said Dr. Mote.
Damaged inner ear cells don’t grow back, so if you’ll be in a loud environment do whatever you can to help protect your child’s hearing. “So whether that's the earplugs that go in the ear, or whether that's the big earmuffs that are kind of outer covering, whatever they're willing to wear, you can get them to wear. Kind of play a game with them, whatever it takes. That's going to be better than nothing,” said Dr. Mote.
A good rule of thumb is to keep headphone volume below 60%. Speak with your doctor if you’re having hearing issues.
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