Posted in Hearing Loss & ... by Dr. Jeremy F. Shapiro on Aug 24, 2010 "What are your recommendations to children who use earphones with their iPods?" Common sense may have seen this coming, but a rather large and recent study just published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found 1 out of 5 adolescents had a slight hearing loss... a number up about 30% over the past 15 years. The study compared 3,000 tweens and teens tested in the late 80s/early 90s to nearly 1,800 adolescents in 2005-06 and beyond finding the 30% increase in slight hearing loss, there was also a 75% increase in those who suffered from a mild to worse hearing loss during this same time frame. And although the study was not designed to find a direct link between these children and their use of portable musical devices (e.g. iPod)/earphones, I agree with many experts out there who point to these portable devices as the probable cause for the hearing loss we are seeing. In fact, a recent Australian research study did look for this link and found a 70% increased risk of hearing loss associated with the use of these portable devices/earphones. And what kind of impact does even slight hearing loss have? Well, in an adolescent, it can impact classroom performance, social skills (i.e. create those awkward moments), and also one’s self-esteem. And I don’t need to remind anyone reading this how significant this can be to teenagers already struggling with just being a teenager. So my recommendation? Well, pretty straightforward... for the teenager, minimal use and if being used, low volume. I should not be able to walk in a room and hear the music coming from the earphones. For a younger child/tween, no use at all... use the docking stations and ditch the earphones. Remember, your child may not be just ignoring you the next time you have to raise your voice to get his attention. He may be having difficulty hearing you.
Yes. And music concerts seem to be louder now. I think the sound systems they make today put out a lot more volume.