1 in 7 children between 9 and 11 years old has hearing damage: this is how you prevent it
Now that children often listen to music, play games or watch movies with earplugs in, hearing damage is lurking. Shocking, but true: research by Erasmus MC shows that 14 percent of Dutch children between the ages of 9 and 11 have hearing damage.
Those are shocking numbers when you consider that this age group does not yet go to concerts or festivals. At such events, hearing damage can only get worse.
Hearing damage can cause noise in your head, such as hearing a beep, ringing or knocking in your ear. This damage to your ear is permanent. There is no cure, so it is better to prevent hearing damage at a young age.
limiter
A quarter of Dutch young people have the volume on their phone too loud. In your spare time you can safely be exposed to 88 decibels for fifteen hours a week, says Saskia Kloet of the knowledge center for injury prevention SafetyNL. “Set a limiter on your child’s tablet or phone. This ensures that the sound is never louder than 85 decibels.”
noise canceling
Have your child use noise-canceling headphones. This muffles the sound of the outside world, so that they turn down the sound of their phone a little faster.
Also read: Hearing protection for your child: these are the options
Earphones
Are you going to a concert or festival with your child? Then use earplugs. Because less sound penetrates, you protect your ears. Buy yourself a few extra caps, because hearing damage can also occur later in life.
Check it out
Have your child take breaks from time to time and move away from earplugs or headphones. Also check how loud the screen is by listening for yourself. You often don’t realize how loud the volume is until someone else listens or you take a break.
Finally, Kloet tips: “Occasionally check your child’s hearing online. You can do this for free on Kinderhoortest.nl or Oorcheck.nl.”
Source: safety.nl, Erasmus MC
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