Kids and teens regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are almost twice as likely to develop hearing loss than children who aren’t usually around it, according to a recent study by the Archives of Otolaryngology. And if something as seemingly unrelated as second-hand smoke contributes to hearing loss in kids, what else can erode a child’s hearing?
Brian Fligor, ScD, director of Diagnostic Audiology at Children’s Hospital Boston, says everyday things that seem harmless are actually degrading our hearing without us realizing it. “Unfortunately, hearing loss is something that affects a lot of people, but it’s also something we can’t see,” he says. “It’s kind of a sinister thing.” Full story »
Any parent could tell you that teenagers aren’t usually the world’s best listeners. But according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for as many as 1 out of 5 American teenagers, poor listening skills may have as much to do with hearing loss as it does with attitude. New research shows 6.5 million teenagers demonstrate signs of hearing damage; a 30 percent increase from the number of hearing loss cases reported by teenagers in the early 1990s. The increased use of personal mp3 players like ipods, and louder, more advanced in-ear head phones is a suspected culprit, but more research is still needed.
Lindsey Claus, a 16-year-old musician from Mansfield who plays both the French horn and piano, says she first noticed her hearing loss about three years ago. She researched doctors online and then made an appointment with Children’s Hospital Boston’s Brian Fligor, ScD, director of Diagnostic Audiology, to protect her slightly damaged hearing and ensure her future as a musician. CBS Evening News recently ran an interview with Fligor and Claus, and reported on teenage hearing loss and its treatment at Children’s.
Newborn hearing screening is likely the most important public health initiative to ever occur within the field of hearing health. It has been known for decades that permanent hearing loss, which happens in at least three of every 1,000 babies born, in newborns is the most common birth condition.
The rate of hearing loss is about 10 times higher in babies who need specialized medical care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) because they have significant medical problems that put them at risk for developing a hearing loss. Full story »
Hearing loss from exposure to loud noises is cumulative and irreversible; if such exposure starts in infancy, children can live half their lives with hearing loss.
Many parents wonder whether their child will suffer from permanent hearing damage due to continually listening to loud iPods and other MP3 players.
So parents all over Europe must have been both worried and relieved last month when the European Union (EU) substantiated their fears and issued new guidelines limiting volume settings and recommended exposure times to protect its citizens’ hearing.
All makers of portable music players must lower their default volume setting from 100 decibels (dB, the sound of a jetliner) to 80 dB (the sound of road traffic)
The default level can be overridden by consumers who choose to do so
Manufacturers must add a health warning to all new devices within the next two years
At 80 dB, exposure should be limited to 40 hours a week
According to a BBC news report, these rules were framed in response to new research, which claimed that one in 10 users of portable music devices who listened at high volume for more than one hour per day over five years risked permanent hearing damage. Full story »
Discovering that your child is deaf can be overwhelming—how will his language skills develop? How do you communicate? One increasingly common option is a cochlear implant. Between an external speech processor (roughly the size of a hearing aid) and an internal receiver (surgically implanted in a child’s inner ear), a cochlear implant can provide a child with the sensation of hearing. With 97 percent of deaf children born to hearing parents, this surgery can be life changing for the whole family. Full story »
Do you have a Children's Hospital Boston story you'd like heard? By sharing your Children's story you can be a great source of inspiration and encouragement to families who are going through similar situations. And it’s a great way to find support by connecting with others. Share your story today »
Kids and teens regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are almost twice as likely to develop hearing loss than children who aren’t usually around it, according to a recent study by the Archives of Otolaryngology. And if something as seemingly unrelated as second-hand smoke contributes to hearing loss in kids, what else can erode a child’s hearing?
Any parent could tell you that teenagers aren’t usually the world’s best listeners. But according to a 
by 
Children’s 
