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Listen Up! Teen Hearing Loss Is on the Rise

Hearing loss affects one in five teens

Listen Up! Teen Hearing Loss Is on the Rise Next time you can hear your teen's music blasting from his earphones, ask him how soon he would like to wear a hearing aid.

That may sound extreme, but a new study published in the August 18, 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that one in five U.S. teens has some level of hearing loss, most likely due to the loud music they listen to on their iPods or other personal music players.

The researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston analyzed the hearing screenings of 1,800 12- to 19-year-olds from across the country and found that 19.5 percent had slight hearing loss, meaning they probably can't hear sounds like a whisper, rustling leaves, or a dripping faucet.

The study's findings mean that an estimated 6.5 million teens in the U.S. have some hearing loss, which could affect their learning and socialization in school and lead to a need for hearing aids early in life.

Big Problem, Low Priority

Teens have been playing music at high volumes for decades, but hearing loss has increased by 30 percent compared to the 1980s and '90s, according to studies. Experts suspect that the long battery life of today's music players and increased obsession with media gadgets is contributing to the issue.

Another study indicated that most young people have experienced ringing in their ears after a loud concert or night out at a club, but they ranked hearing loss as a low health concern.

It's an invisible problem, and the public isn't highly aware of the educational, social, and psychological issues that come with hearing loss, especially in children and adolescents. Kids may not be able to hear their teachers in the classroom or their friends in the lunchroom, and both can affect their development and self-esteem.

Save your child's hearingWhat can you do to prevent hearing loss in your family? After all, many children get their first music player before their teen years, and even parents can be guilty of cranking up their iPods.

Here are some tips:

• See if your child's music player has a volume control lock. Apple's iPod has a feature that allows parents to set the volume at a certain level, and kids can't change it without a code.
• Make your child turn down the volume, especially if you can hear her music pumping out of her earbuds or headphones. If your child practically lives with her iPod on, play it safe and keep the volume at 60 percent or lower.
• Avoid the temptation to pump up the volume to 100 percent while doing noisy activities like running on a treadmill, vacuuming, riding a bus or subway, or mowing the lawn.
• Limit listening time. Experts at Children's Hospital Boston recommend these limits on listening time (when using standard iPod earphones): 5 minutes for 100 percent volume, 18 minutes for 90 percent volume, 1.2 hours for 80 percent volume, and 4.6 hours for 70 percent volume. Listening at 60 percent or lower volume is safe for up to 18 hours for most people.
• Watch out for all different sources of continuous sound that can harm hearing. Besides amplified music, sources of continuous noise include motorized recreational vehicles, loud sporting events, power tools, and farming equipment.