Photo credit: Patrick Pielarski licensed under CC by 2.0
by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition
This isn’t a scientific study, but a news report from Ireland. An audiologist recommends that parents limit children’s headphone use to one hour daily. She notes that, “ten years ago, around 5pc of people aged under 45 were fitted with hearing aids. Now, 23pc of our hearing aids are for people under 45.”
That’s a shame. Hearing aids are costly, and even the best are a poor substitute for preserved natural hearing. It takes decades for noise-induced hearing loss to become bad enough that people are willing to use hearing aids.
A Dutch study earlier this year found auditory damage from headphone use in children age 9-11, and the damage only gets worse over time.
Parents–and indeed everyone–should limit headphone use, or better yet just put the headphones in the drawer.
One doesn’t need a continuous audio track to life! But if you do, for your own sake, for your ears, please turn down the volume.
