Did you ever wonder if listening to an ipod could make you go deaf? Of course when we were kids, our moms were always yelling at us to turn our radios down. But back then, the sound wasn’t being pumped directly into our ear canal at extremely high levels, via earbuds. Many parents (including the Gorilla) are concerned about the effects of these music players on our kids’ eardrums-a fter all, the eardrum can only tolerate so much!
Quite frankly, even the Gorilla admits that his hearing has been slightly affected, and attributes this fact directly to listening to his MP3 player or ipod too loud over the years. Alison Grimes, president of the American Academy of Audiology, and head of UCLA Medical Center’s Audiology Clinic says, ”In the 6-to-19 year-old age range, there is increasing prevalence of hearing loss, and as many as 12% of kids in that age range have measurable hearing loss.” She goes on to say that the sound levels from listening devices with earphones that sit deep in the ear canal put an adsorbent amount of pressure on the eardrum. Although many people (and gorillas) prefer to listen to loud music, the eardrum can’t tolerate the pressure at those levels.
So what’s a parent to do then? One mom from New Hampshire got mad and decided to do something about the problem. Christine Ingemi, with four children under the age of 11, said, “I had the same battle every mother has, always trying to tell them to turn it down,” she said. “I just couldn’t really do anything to prevent it.” So she created special earbuds that limit the amount of sound produced to a safer level. She is not the only one taking action. Many companies have produced new headphones for children that promote safer listening. Currently, Sony is coming out with its MDR-222KD headphones, with more “moderate” volume levels than headphones adults would use. Phillips now has headphones for kids, with a volume lock on it that parents can set. Another company, “Safe and Sound,” has come up with another set that sell for around $30, which have chambers that “direct the sound away from the eardrum by facing the speaker elements away from the ear canal,” according to the company’s web site.
Whatever product or method you choose, it’s good to know that there are choices. Your kids don’t have to suffer from the inevitable hearing loss that will occur if they continue to listen to music too loudly! The Gorilla, for one, has made the investment in better earbuds, and although the sound is still great, luckily it is not too loud anymore!