Every autumn, kids head back to school—and that means noise! Schools are filled with the sounds of packed hallways and cafeterias, band practices, and sporting events. Noise levels in these settings can be loud enough to permanently damage your children’s hearing.
Protect your children’s ears by adding these steps to your family’s back-to-school checklist:
- Give your children earplugs or earmuffs to carry in their backpacks. Make it easy for your kids to protect their hearing in situations and places that are too loud. Earplugs are small and easy to pack; earmuffs are fun to decorate and easy to use! Protect your child’s hearing.
- Teach your children how their ears work. Use this animated video from the NIDCD to show your children how sound makes its way through the ear and to the brain, where it can be interpreted.
- Schedule a hearing test for your children. Having good hearing is crucial for school-aged children. Children must be able to hear their teachers, join in conversations, and hear cars when crossing the streets. Make sure your children are hearing all that they should be!
Raise awareness of noise-induced hearing loss. Chat with your children’s teachers about noise-induced hearing loss and the importance of protecting young ears, and share this fun back-to-school checklist image with your friends and fellow parents. You might even suggest that teachers use downloadable, online tools (like a sound meter) to monitor noise levels in the classroom.- Download a sound-meter app on your phone or your children’s phone, and test activities like their bus ride to school or school sports events! You can play a decibel level guessing game or inspire your children to create a science project about decibel levels and noise pollution.
- Download or order Noisy Planet's free, redesigned bookmark. Your children can have noise-level information on hand wherever they go with this conveniently sized bookmark.
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