Can Your Child’s iPod Damage Their Hearing?

Is listening to loud music ruining the hearing of a generation?  If you read some recent doctor‘s studies that claim 20% of teenagers today have some form of hearing loss, you might be inclined to believe that it is.  The Apple iPod headphones that fit into the ear, called earbuds, focus the sound directly into the ear canal.  At high volumes, this does indeed pose a danger and it can cause problems with hearing in children and adults.

Does this mean that you should ban your child from listening to his or her iPod?  No, but it does mean that you have to set some limits.

First, make sure that your children are listening for short periods throughout the day rather than blasting their iPods for hours on end. They shouldn’t be listening to the iPod while they are doing homework either, because it can be a distraction at higher volumes.  Set a limit of half an hour to an hour maximum for your children.  The exception to this would be artwork, during which creative process, listening to music can actually help focus your child.

You also need to make sure that you confront the volume issue that so many kids seem to have with their iPod.  They turn it up far too loud, and this is very damaging to the eardrums.  If you are tech-savvy, you can go into the settings on the iPod and change the maximum volume level.  This is an easy way to keep your younger children from turning the volume up too loud.

Basically, if you can hear the sound of their music while they have their headphones on, it is too loud.  Make them turn the iPod down.  They might not appreciate it now, but they will enjoy having their hearing later in life.