BOSTON, Mass. (Ivanhoe Newswire) – Can you hear me now? Well, 26 million men and women have hearing problems.

The impact of hearing loss can be profound. It can lead to loss of communication, social isolation and even an increased risk of dementia.

But did you know that teenagers, even young children can experience noise-induced hearing loss? In fact, more than 5 million children between the ages of 6 and 19 are affected by it. And for them, it can lead to depression, isolation and even delayed language development. So what can you do to protect your children?

Does your child have selective hearing or could he have the beginnings of hearing loss?

Normal, everyday activities can cause noise-induced hearing loss in children.

“Shooting firearms without hearing protection, singing in rock bands, listening to headphones too loud for too long actually puts some people at risk of losing access to the sounds they need to hear for language development,” he said. said Pediatrician. Audiologist Brian Fligor of Tobias & Battite Hearing Wellness.

He said noise above 75 decibels can start to affect a child’s hearing. Normal conversation is 60 decibels. But constant noise from things like hair dryers, motorcycles, music, sirens and fireworks can cause irreversible damage.

There could be a problem if you notice that your child has trouble hearing soft or faint sounds, if they complain that conversations are muffled, or if they ask you to repeat things.

“So one of the first things a child will report if there’s some concern about hearing loss is that they’ll have a ringing, buzzing, hissing in their ears,” Filgor said.

So it is up to parents to protect their children. Most importantly, if you think there is a problem, get your child’s hearing checked by their doctor.

A common myth Fligor says is that parents think that if they can hear the music coming out of their child’s headphones, it’s too loud. When in fact you don’t need to hear it for it to already be damaging your children’s hearing. And remember, not all hearing loss is permanent. It can also be caused by excess earwax, an infection or head trauma.

Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Producer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; Roque Correa, Editor.

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