Health & Fitness
Noisy Holiday Toys
Most parents aren't considering the potential dangers that popular holiday toys and gadgets can inflict on their children's long-term hearing.
You’ve made your list, checked it twice and battled the crowds to hunt down everything on your kids’ wish lists this holiday season. While iPods/MP3 players, cell phones, stereo systems, gaming systems (like Nintendo DS and Wii) and other noisy devices are likely to appear on holiday wish lists of children and teens this year, most parents aren’t considering the potential dangers that these toys and gadgets can inflict on their children’s long-term hearing.
But parents: Don’t return those gifts just yet. Audiologist McLorn Carpenter of Midwest Hearing Consultants says there are ways that you can help protect your kids’ ears without doing away with the fun:
- Apply the Four Foot Rule: One rule of thumb is that you should be able to have a normal conversation with your child from four feet away without having to raise your voice. If you find that you need to shout over a toy, the device’s volume is too loud.
- Encourage Breaks: Have your kids been plugged into their new toys since they came out of the box? Urge them to switch to another quiet activity (think board games or playing outside) for a while to give their ears a break.
- Stuff their Stockings: Looking for the perfect stocking stuffer to go with their new music player or hand held gaming device? Pick up a pair of Kidz Safe Earbuds, which will limit the sound to a safe level for listening (85 decibels). You can purchase these colorful earbuds at any of the four Midwest Hearing Consultants locations for $20.
- Schedule a Screening: Because noise-induced hearing loss may not develop until 5 to 15 years after exposure, hearing screenings are a quick and painless way to determine if any hearing damage is occurring. Protection now, when children are young, means less chance of hearing loss later in life.
Victoria Gestner works with Midwest ENT Consultants, who are ear, nose and throat doctors and audiologists with offices in various locations, including Plainfield. She wrote this in conjunction with Dr. McLorn Carpenter, an audiologist with Midwest Hearing Consultants.
