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Are You Protecting Your Child's Hearing Properly?

5.2 million 6-19 year old have hearing loss
directly related to noise exposure*. Don't·80  alarm  clock
let your child be part of this unfortunate
group.·85  noisy  restaurant
PEACE  &  QUIET·90  city  traffic
"Offer your child peace and quiet," says the·110-120 rock concert, speedboat,
Noise Center. "Noise poses a serious threatheadphones  on  maximum
to children's hearing, health, learning and
behavior." (And I can't think of an adult who·110 shouting in ear, baby crying, many
functions well in a noisy environmentpower  tools
either.) "Peace" and "quiet" usually go
together because without "quiet" there can be·120  thunder,  jet  takeoff  at  200'
no  "peace."
·130-140 firecracker, gunshot, powerful
Aside from turning down the TV and stereo,car  speakers
lowering your voice, and providing the
opportunity for quiet time in both their work·180  rocket  launching
and leisure, take a look at the toys you
allow  your  children  to  play  with.According to the Noise Center, musical toys
measure over 110 decibels, comparable to many
Fortunately my children didn't suffer hearingpower  tools.
loss from the obnoxiously loud toys they
played with, but I must admit I told them toTEENS
quit for my sake, not theirs, and I was
always standing a good bit father away fromWith your teenagers, pay special attention.
their toy than they were. One father I knowSo many of the things they love are not
immediately disarms any noise-making functionadvisable:
on a toy his child receives, and this may not
be  a  bad  idea.Clubs  and  discos,  91  -  96  dBA  +
And because they're young doesn't work inDance  floor,  85  -  100  dBA
this case. You might assume, for instance,
that your teenager can take that 85 decibelsAt  the  bar,  90  dBA  or  more
(dB) music because he's a teenager, but that
isn't the case. Children's ear canals arePersonal  stereo  systems.  60  -  114  dBA
shorter than adults, and therefore more
vulnerable  to  damage  in  this  way.Rock  concerts,  100  dBA  or  more  average
A study conducted by the Henry Ford HealthCar  stereos,  up  to  154  dBA  in the car!!
System found that many current toys,
including tape recorders, bike horns, capHome  stereo,  80  -  115  dBA
guns, and toy telephones, are not safe for
your child's hearing. Of the 25 they tested,If you take your kids hunting or to the
more than half of them made sounds highershooting range, take the hearing protectors
than  115  dBs.along. Firearms are all high and a single
exposure can cause permanent hearing loss.
According to The National Institute forExamples, 12-guage shotgun, 150-165 dB,
Occupational Safety and Health, at 110 dB,shotgun, 163-172 dB, rifle, 143-170 dB. Most
the maximum undamaging exposure time is onefirearms start at 100 dB and can go as high
minute  and  29  seconds.as  190  Db.
NOTE: In researching this article I found aYou may also assign your older child or
variety of decibels, as well as length ofteenage chores involving power tools which
exposure before damage and also read studiesrequire supervision for safety, including
saying that individuals varied in theirhearing  safety.
tolerance for noises. The data is not
consistent, but will give you a range. ShouldAlso note than a firecracker can cause
you be wondering what protection to takeimmediate  damage.
when, ask your personal healthcare
professional  for  medical  advice.RECREATION
PERMANENT  INSTANT  DAMAGETwo other things children and teens like
should be monitored. Noise levels at video
The ear is more unforgiving than you mayarcades can exceed 100 decibels (similar to
know. A loud enough noise can cause instant,factory machinery), and computer games and
permanent damage, some noises can causestereo systems can go as high as 135 dB (the
damage if heard long enough, and there islevel of a jackhammer), with car stereos
also cumulative effect over time. Preventionreaching up to 154 dB, and an action movie is
is crucial because noise-induced hearing lossgenerally  beyond  90  dB.
can't be corrected, and hearing aids don't do
much  good.No one knows exactly what level damages a
child's ears, but the Noise Center's Rule of
Sound is vibration and has three properties:Thumb is: IF YOU HAVE TO SHOUT TO BE HEARD
intensity, frequency and duration.THREE FEET AWAY, THE NOISE IS TOO LOUD AND IS
"Intensity" is what is measured in decibelsDAMAGING  TO  YOUR  HEARING.
(dBs). A measure called dBA indicates damage
to hearing. The higher the dBA number, theDon't let your child become a statistic.
greater the risk of damage to hearing. ThisAccording to Dangerous Decibels,
is because intensity translates to pressureapproximately 30 million Americans have
on  the  eardrum.hearing loss, and 50 million have tinnitus,
an early indicator. According to a study done
What sound has what dBs? There is a long listby Montgomery and Fujukawa in 1992, "Over the
of dBs (which they equate with dBAs) on thelast 10 years, the percentage of 2nd graders
League for the Hard of Hearing website ( ),with hearing loss has increased 2.8 times;
including various recreational and workhearing loss in 8th graders has increased
situations. A noisy squeeze toy rates anover  4  times."
alarming  135dB  from  them.
Check with your child's pediatrician for
"Noise levels above 85 dB will harm hearingspecific information. This is not medical
over time," they caution, and "noise levelsadvice.
above 140dB can cause damage to hearing after
just one exposure." 140dB is also the pain*According to the 3rd National Health and
threshold; most of us hearing a sound at thisNutrition Examination Survey [Niskar, 2000].
level will feel it as well. All values areReported  on  DangerousDecibels.
approximate.
WHAT  CAN  YOU  DO?
According to , harm can occur with 103 dBs
after 7.5 minutes, 106 dBs after less than 41.Educate  yourself  about  noise  levels
minutes, 109 dBs after less than 2 minutes,
and  115  dBs  after  around  30  seconds.2.Provide  your  child  with  peace and quiet
Here is a list of sounds and the decibels to3.Make  it  clear  you  value peace and quiet
give  you  an  idea:
4.Counteract  that  "loud  is  cool"
·0 The softest sound a person can hear
with  normal  hearing aka "hearing threshold"5.Ask your local theater to lower decibel
levels
·10  normal  breathing
6.Provide  ear  protection
·20 whispering at 5 feet, broadcasting
studio,  rustling  leaves7.Model  good  hearing  protection
·30  soft  whisper,  library8.Include instruction the same way you do
when you tell them brushing their teeth twice
·50  rainfall, light traffic, average homea  day  prevents  tooth  decay
·60 normal conversation, air conditioning9.
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