Dr. Black, who sees patients at Nemours and
Wolfson Children’s Hospital of Jacksonville,
and also at the Wolfson Children’s Specialty
Center in Lake City, recommends parents pay
attention to the sound levels in their children’s
activities.
“To protect your child’s hearing, listen to the
sound before purchasing a toy or game, and
limit the amount of exposure,” said Dr. Black.
“You can measure how loud a toy is with a
decibel meter or
an app on your
The best way to
phone.”
“
prevent noise-
induced hearing
loss is to avoid
exposure to
excessive noise.”
Animated toys are
one of the most
common ways
young children
are exposed to
excessive noise.
Although they are
designed to stimulate children, many toys can
be dangerously loud. Some toys, including
rattles, squeaky toys and musical toys, have
been reported to emit sounds measuring
over 110 decibels, which is comparable to
power tools.
When purchasing toys, look for ones with a
volume control or an off/on button. Remove
the batteries or cover the speaker with tape to
reduce the sound.
“Lower the volume when possible,”
said Dr. Black. “If you can hear a child’s
device from across a room, it’s too loud.”
For older children and teens, potential sources
of extreme noise volume include listening to
music, playing computer games and using
headphones. Dr. Black recommends parents
set a limit for how long children can listen to
music or play video games and how loud they
can turn up the volume.
When using headphones or earbuds,
listen at half the maximum volume
and limit exposure to no more than
30 minutes in an eight-hour period.
If available, limit a device’s maximum
sound volume and lock it in place
through a parental control setting. If
the device is not equipped with this
feature, there are several app options
available online.
“When it comes to loud sound, the general
rule is the greater the volume, the shorter the
acceptable duration,” said Dr. Black. “Listening
to music too loud, for several hours a day, will
result in inevitable hearing loss.”
If you have concerns about protecting your child’s
hearing, Wolfson Children’s Hospital encourages you to
talk to your child’s pediatrician or family practice doctor.
Wolfson Children’s Hospital has 250+ full-time pediatric
physicians in 34 specialties through its collaboration
with Nemours Children’s Specialty Care, Jacksonville,
and the UF College of Medicine – Jacksonville. Visit
wolfsonchildrens.com for more information.
wolfsonchildrens.com