The Hearing Loss Prevention Program provides free prevention information and hearing testing to children throughout the greater Houston community.  Through this initiative, The Center for Hearing and Speech aims to identify hearing loss and teach students how to protect one of their most valuable assets – their hearing. 

HEARING PROTECTION

According to recent data, 36 million Americans have hearing loss. Of these individuals one in three developed their hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise. Furthermore, approximately 12% of all children ages 6-19 have noise-induced hearing loss. Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by damage to the hair cells that are found in our inner ear, or cochlea. Hair cells are small sensory cells that convert the sounds we hear into electrical signals that travel to the brain. Once our hair cells are damaged, they cannot grow back, causing a permanent hearing loss. 

Sounds that are harmful are those that are too loud and last too long (such as a concert) and/or are very loud and sudden (such as an explosion).  These harmful sounds can be encountered at work, school, home, and during recreational activities.  If noise is painful to your ears or makes your ears ring, or if you have to shout over background noise to be heard, you may be in a harmfully noisy environment.

The loudness of sound is measured in decibels (dB).  Noise-induced hearing loss can be caused by prolonged exposure to any loud sounds over 85 dB.  Below is a list of common everyday sounds and there corresponding loudness levels. 

Noise-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable.  Protect your hearing by wearing hearing protection (i.e. ear plugs, ear muffs) when around loud sounds over a long period of time.  Below are several products to help prevent hearing loss in children:

Loud Enough Ear Phones: These limit the output of sound from the media player by approximately 20 dB without sacrificing sound quality.  These earbuds are made especially for little ears ages 6 and up. 

Ear Saver Volume Limiter: This device is plugged in between the music output jack and your earphones.  It reduces the volume by approximately 17 dB with minimal effect on sound quality. For this device to have maximum benefit, you must have a set of earbuds that already fit well in your outer ear.

Custom Earmolds: Earmold companies make custom products for most personal devices (i.e. MP3 players, portable gaming devices, Portable DVD player).  They provide the best possible seal and are available in many colors.  Custom earplugs can be made for even the smallest ears.

ER-20 High-Fidelity Earplugs: These tiny earplugs maintain sound quality while reducing the output of the signal by approximately 20 dB. 

Peltor Junior Earmuffs: These earmuffs are designed for infants as young as 3 months old and have a noise reduction rating of 22 dB.  These muffs are safe and comfortable on small heads. 

Apple provides a free volume limiting adjustment feature through its software to limit the maximum volume for iPods and iPhones here.

Free Hearing Protection Download for iPods

To order one of the hearing protection devices, please contact the Audiology Department at (713) 523-3633.