Pediatric audiologist warns loud music can cause lasting hearing damage
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — As concert and festival season continues, a Norton Children’s pediatric audiologist is reminding parents and teens that repeated exposure to loud noise can cause lasting hearing damage.
Shelley Moats, a pediatric audiologist with Norton Children’s, said music is one of the most common sources of noise exposure for children and teenagers.
Research using hearing-test data from U.S. teens found as many as 17% of 12- to 19-year-olds had hearing-test results suggesting noise-induced hearing loss.
While concerts and festivals can expose children to loud music, Moats said everyday listening habits can also contribute to hearing damage.
Moats said she has particular concerns about earbuds because they sit inside the ear canal and place sound closer to the eardrum.
“When you’re inserting the earbud into the ear canal, you have much less space between the end of the AirPod and your eardrum, which concentrates all that sound into a smaller space,” Moats said.
Moats said parents and teens should watch for potential warning signs after exposure to loud sounds. Those can include tinnitus, or ringing and buzzing in the ears, muffled hearing or a feeling of fullness in the ears.
She said temporary changes in hearing following a loud event can be a temporary threshold shift. Repeated exposure to loud noise can eventually lead to permanent hearing loss.
Moats recommends using hearing protection at concerts, festivals and other loud events. She said the most important factor is finding ear protection that is comfortable enough to wear consistently.
“So earplugs are huge,” Moats said. “Really, the most important thing for an ear plug is that you get one that you will wear.”
Moats said parents can also consider hearing protection specifically designed for children, including options made for infants and toddlers.
For children or teens experiencing changes in their hearing, Moats recommends scheduling an appointment with a pediatric audiologist. Hearing tests can help evaluate different parts of the ear and identify early signs of damage from noise exposure.
“With repeated exposure, you can cause a permanent hearing loss that may reach the point where it’s significant enough to require a hearing aid,” Moats said.
Moats said significant hearing loss would require a substantial amount of exposure, but changes in sound quality and problems such as tinnitus can become noticeable much earlier.
As families attend concerts and festivals, hearing experts encourage parents and children to use hearing protection and pay attention to changes in their hearing.
