If we do not properly address the problem that loud noise poses to young ears, we will raise a generation of children that experience hearing loss by their 20s and 30s to a degree once seen only among seniors in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. Those ubiquitous personal listening devices plugged into the ears of children have cause hearing loss in an estimated one in five teenagers. That percentage is nearly one-third higher than it was during the 1980s and 1990s. With this in mind, parents are encouraged to have their children follow the “60/60 rule,” which means listening to no more than 60 per cent of a device’s maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes per day.
The earbuds people use with iPod or MP3 players sit within the ear canal. This puts the audio signal close to your inner ear, which is the equivalent of boosting it by as much as nine decibels. Hearing loss is not reversible, and the longer it goes unrecognized and untreated, the faster it progresses. To schedule a consultation, please call EAR & HEARING CLINIC. As registered members of the College of Audiologists and Speech Language Pathologists of Ontario, we are among the highest qualified regulated hearing health care professionals in Canada. “Hear the Sounds of Life.”
