Young children's hearing is a precious commodity to protect. Here are some things to do as a parent to help your child maintain their hearing.

Limit them Listening to the TV

You should monitor how closely they sit to the television and how loud the TV actually is. This is a leading cause of hearing loss in young children, since they are less able to tell when they are damaging their hearing. 

Limit Headphone Volumes

The same goes for headphone volumes. You should not be able to hear the song your child is listening to outside of the headphones; that is too loud. Make listening to music or shows conditional on using a reasonable volume. 

Limit Exposure to Loud Noises

Everyone should limit exposure to loud noises, but this is especially true of young children, whose small ears can pick up sound vibrations much more acutely. If there is construction or another loud noise in the vicinity of your child, cover their ears and move them to safety. 

Get Hearing Tests

Hearing tests are part of the cluster of tests that young children need on a preventative basis. You may think young children can't suffer from hearing loss, but that is unfortunately wrong. A single exposure to a loud noise during infancy or early childhood can do permanent damage to hearing. Since children don't have much of a baseline for knowing when there's something wrong with their hearing, they will unknowingly adjust their habits. Only a good hearing test will catch early hearing loss. 

Do Something Early

If you do find any hearing abnormalities, do something early on. Hearing loss is cumulative. A child has a long way to go in life, to where their hearing can get significantly worse by the time they are an older adult. Playgrounds, classrooms, and lunchrooms can be noisy, so you don't want your child going to any of these places without a diagnosis and without the proper protective gear. 

Your audiologist will help you choose the right hearing aids that can amplify sounds when needed, and then adjust the volume back down in noisy school settings. These don't have to be obtrusive in many cases; there are discrete hearing aid models that fit directly inside your child's ear. The bottom line is that an audiologist will be the one to help you find a great solution, so that hearing loss doesn't become more significant at a young age.