Almost every kid owns or have access to some type of music player. Digital music players are everywhere imaginable likewise the increase noise cancelling headphones for kids. Understandably, music is a great way to relax and a great stress killer but our music listening habits or choices might be of some hearing disadvantage especially to kids.
Leading authorities such as ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) has predicted an increase in the national tally of hearing loss caused by personal music devices. More percentage of the affected listeners are in the younger age brackets. Be it headphones or earbuds the impact is the same. In case you are wondering the difference between these two, headphones have speakers that stay over the ear while earbuds are placed in the ear canal focusing the sound directly into the ear drum.
Finding the perfect earbud might take some time because the buds come in different forms. Too small might take away some sound and too big might just be discomforting. Some
brands comes with interchangeable buds which allows you to have an earbud that best suits your ear canal size. In order to get the best audio quality from your device you need to find the perfect device that suits your need. Personally, I go for over the ear headphones for my kids because the noise around the ear is superficial unlike the earbud that sits right inside the ear itself. Wireless headphones for kids is also a great option, this allows them to move around even more.
Noise cancelling headphones for kids increase the acoustic sound quality and cancels out noise hence the need to listen to music at loud volume is not necessitated. This is the main cause of hearing loss. Study has shown that ear bud exposure to risk of hearing loss is different for headphones. Not that earbuds are dangerous by default, when volume is kept low the risk is completely taken out. The probability of getting loud noise when the ear is blocked with ear bud is higher.
Irrespective of the option you go for, it is key to train your kids to adhere to a volume level and you as a parent need to make routine checks per time. It is key as a parent to ensure your kids are listening to music at a safe volume. The importance of volume control with kids headphones cannot be overemphasized.
Below are a couple of ways you can prevent hearing loss in kids using headphones.
- Keep volume low. Half volume should be okay usually
- Listening time should be controlled. The ear needs some breaks
- Imbibe a good listening culture into your kids.