LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) – It’s Parenting Connection Tuesday and 6 News is here for you with tips, strategies, and helpful reminders from local child development experts on how we can be better parents and guardians.
Today’s topic: How to protect kids from noise-induced hearing loss.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now warning against a growing health hazard researchers say, many parents aren’t thinking about. It deals with excessive noise exposure involving infants, children, and adolescents — due to the rise of personal listening devices that younger children are now using.
Pediatricians say indoor noise, coming from infant white noise machines, personal listening devices like tablets and iPods, toys, TVs, and video games are now causing infants and smaller children to be susceptible to potential hearing damage — which can accumulate over time.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is now offering these simple suggestions to help prevent noise damage to our children’s hearing:
*Use white noise machines at as low a volume as possible, for as short a time as possible, and as far away from the baby as possible
*Consider how loud a toy is when deciding to make a purchase, and set the volume to the lowest level
*Encourage kids to take breaks from listening by limiting TV time, and headphone usage.
Doctors also say, if you can hear the song or show your child is listening while they’re wearing headphones or earbuds, that’s a sign the volume needs to be turned down.
