Request an Appointment

Toggle navigation
  • blog
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Central Alabama ENT Associates
6980 Winton Blount Blvd Montgomery, AL 36117(334) 277-0484
  • Home
  • Staff
  • Offices
  • Services
    • Allergies
    • Hearing Loss
    • Sinusitis
    • Sore Throat
    • Tinnitus
  • New Patients
  • Contact Us
  • Appointment Request
  • Patient Education

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children

Our team of specialists and staff believe that informed patients are better equipped to make decisions regarding their health and well being. For your personal use, we have created an extensive patient library covering an array of educational topics. Browse through these diagnoses and treatments to learn more about topics of interest to you. Or, for a more comprehensive search of our entire Web site, enter your term(s) in the search bar provided.

As always, you can contact our office to answer any questions or concerns.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports that approximately 28 million Americans have lost some or all of their hearing, including 17 in 1,000 children under age 18. There are three types of hearing loss:

Conductive hearing loss:

This occurs when sound is not conducted efficiently through the outer ear canal to the eardrum and the tiny bones of the middle ear. Conductive hearing loss usually involves a reduction in sound level, or the ability to hear faint sounds. This type of hearing loss can be caused by middle ear infection, impacted earwax, or a benign tumor. This type of hearing loss can often be medically or surgically corrected.

Sensorineural hearing loss:

This hearing loss, caused by damage to the inner ear or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain, is permanent and cannot be medically or surgically corrected. Sensorineural hearing loss not only involves a reduction in sound level, or ability to hear faint sounds, but also affects speech understanding, or ability to hear clearly. Causes of this disorder include drugs that are toxic to the auditory system, and genetic syndromes. Sensorineural hearing loss may also occur as a result of noise exposure, viruses, head trauma, aging, and tumors.

Mixed hearing loss:

Hearing loss can be both conductive and sensorineural. For example, there may be damage in the outer or middle ear and in the inner ear (cochlea) or auditory nerve. When this occurs, the hearing loss is referred to as a mixed hearing loss.

Incidence of this disorder increases with age. For example, approximately 314 in 1,000 people over age 65 have hearing loss and 40 to 50 percent of people 75 and older have a hearing loss.

Although 10 million Americans suffer irreversible noise-induced hearing loss, with 30 million more exposed to dangerous noise levels each day, very little has been reported on children's risk for this type of impairment .

This may soon change. Preteens are attending music concerts with increasing regularity. Additionally, the portable MP3 player, successor to transistor radios and the walkman, is a portable device that can provide up to 15,000 songs through headphones.

Should MP3 player use be limited?

Ear specialists say a whisper is 30 decibels and that a normal conversation is 60 decibels. The sound from an iPod Shuffle has been measured at 115 decibels. A survey sponsored by the Australian government found that about 25 percent of people using portable stereos had daily noise exposures high enough to cause hearing damage. And further research from the United Kingdom determined that young people, ages 18 to 24, were more likely than other adults to exceed safe listening limits.

Researchers at Boston Children's Hospital determined that listening to a portable music player with headphones at 60 percent of its potential volume for one hour a day is relatively safe.

Why earplugs are important at concerts

Parents should be aware that various medical studies have found sound levels at rock concerts often to be significantly higher than 85 dBA, with some reports suggesting that sound intensity may reach 90 dBA to as high as 122 dBA.

To experience 85 dBA, listen to an electric shaver or a busy urban street. Experts agree that continued exposure to noise above 85 dBA over time will cause hearing loss. Clearly, if levels are maintained at values greater than 85 dBA for long periods of time, this may lead to a significant noise exposure and frequent concertgoers may experience some potentially irreversible hearing loss from this experience.

A research study, "Incidence of Spontaneous Hearing Threshold Shifts during Modern Concert Performances," from the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis examined sound intensity throughout a well-known concert venue and the effectiveness of earplugs.

The findings, presented at the 2005 annual meeting stated that sound pressure levels appeared equally hazardous in all parts of the concert hall, regardless of the type of music played. Accordingly, you should use earplugs at every type of musical concert, regardless of your vicinity to the stage.

A good rule of thumb: When a child accompanies a parent to any activity or location with excessive noise, ear protection should be worn by the entire family.


Learn More

  • Allergies
  • Dizziness
  • Ear Infection
  • Hearing Loss
  • Sinusitis
  • Sore Throat
  • Tinnitus

Patient Education

Patient Education
  • Ears
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Cholesteatoma
    • Cochlear Implants
    • Ear Plastic Surgery
    • Ear Tubes
    • Earaches
    • Ears and Altitude
    • Earwax
    • Quick Glossary for Good Ear Health
    • Autoimmune Inner Ear Disease
    • Better Ear Health
    • Buying a Hearing Aid
    • Child Screening
    • Chronic Otitis Media
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
    • Ear Infection and Vaccines
    • Your Genes and Hearing Loss
    • How the Ear Works
    • Hyperacusis
    • Know the Power of Sound
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Obesity
    • What You Should Know About Otosclerosis
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Infant Hearing Loss
    • Noise and Hearing Protection
    • Perforated Eardrum
    • Swimmer's Ear
    • Tinnitus
    • Travel Tips for the Hearing Impaired
  • Throat
    • About Your Voice
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • Can the Medications I Take Harm My Voice
    • Gastroesphageal Reflux (GERD)
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Keeping Your Voice Healthy
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
    • Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
    • Nodules, Polyps, and Cysts
    • Pediatric GERD
    • Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
    • Special Care for Occupational and Professional Voice Users
    • Tips for Healthy Voices
    • Tonsillectomy Procedures
    • Tonsillitis
    • Tonsils and Adenoids PostOp
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis
    • GERD and LPR
    • Hoarseness
    • How the Voice Works
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Sore Throats
    • Swallowing Disorders
    • Tonsils and Adenoids
    • Diet and Exercise Tips
  • Nose and Mouth
    • Allergies and Hay Fever
    • Antihistamines, Decongestants, and "Cold" Remedies
    • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • 20 Questions about Your Sinuses
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Allergic Rhinitis, Sinusitis, and Rhinosinusitis
    • Antibiotics and Sinusitis
    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
    • Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat Problems
    • Deviated Septum
    • Do I Have Sinusitis?
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Injection Snoreplasty
    • Pediatric Obesity
    • Sinus Headaches
    • Sinus Pain
    • Sinus Surgery
    • Sinusitis: Special Considerations for Aging Patients
    • Tips for Sinus Sufferers
    • Tongue-tie (Ankyloglossia)
    • Your Nose: The Guardian Of Your Lungs
    • Fungal Sinusitis
    • Laser Assisted Uvula Palatoplasty (LAUP)
    • Mouth Sores
    • Nasal Fractures
    • Nose Surgery
    • Nosebleeds
    • Post-Nasal Drip
    • Salivary Glands
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Sinusitis
    • Smell and Taste
    • Smokeless Tobacco
    • Snoring
    • Stuffy Noses
    • TMJ Pain
    • Tonsils and Adenoids
  • Head and Neck
    • Bell's Palsy
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
    • Dizziness and Motion Sickness
    • Facial Plastic Surgery
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • Children and Facial Trauma
    • Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Sinus Pain
    • Sinusitis
    • Fall Prevention
    • Head and Neck Cancer
    • Sinus Headaches
    • Thyroid Disorders and Surgery
    • TMJ
  • Cancer
    • Are We Through With Chew Yet?
    • Common Problems That Can Affect Your Voice
    • Laryngeal (Voice Box) Cancer
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
    • Rhabdomyosarcoma
    • Head and Neck Cancer
    • Quiting Smokeless Tobacco
    • Secondhand Smoke
    • Skin Cancer
    • Smokeless Tobacco
  • Pediatric
    • Child's Hearing Loss
    • Children and Facial Paralysis
    • Facial Sports Injuries
    • Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)
    • Child Screening
    • Children and Facial Trauma
    • Cochlear-Meningitis Vaccination
    • Could My Child Have Sleep Apnea?
    • Day Care and Ear, Nose, and Throat
    • How Allergies Affect your Child's Ears, Nose, and Throat
    • Laryngopharyngeal Reflux and Children
    • Noise-Induced Hearing Loss In Children
    • Pediatric Food Allergies
    • Pediatric GERD
    • Pediatric Head and Neck Tumors
    • Pediatric Obesity and Ear, Nose, and Throat Disorders
    • Pediatric Thyroid Cancer
    • When Your Child Has Tinnitus
    • Why Do Children Have Earaches?
    • Pediatric Sinusitis
    • Secondhand Smoke and Children
  • Información de Salud en Español
    • Colesteatoma
    • Diábolos Estudio acerca de causas y opciones terapéuticas
    • Doctor? ¿Por Qué a Mi Hijo Le Duele El Oído?
    • Doctor? ¿Qué Causa El Ruido En El Oído?
    • El Humo del Tabaco Ambiental y los Niños
    • La pérdida de la audición
    • Otitis Media Crónica (Infección del Oído Medio) e Hipocusia
    • Perfóracion Timpánica
    • Qué Debe Saber Acerca de la Otoesclerosis
    • Screening de Audición en Niños
    • Sirvan Las Amigdalas Y Los Adenoides?
    • Amigdalitis
    • Rinitis alérgica, sinusitis y rinosinusitis
    • Implantes cocleares
    • Problemas comunes que pueden afectar a su voz
    • ¿Tengo sinusitis?
    • Cera en los oídos
    • Reflujo Gastroesofágico (ERGE)
    • Las fracturas nasales
    • Nódulos, pólipos y quistes
    • Hemorragias nasales
    • Glosario para una buena salud del oído

Our Location

6980 Winton Blount Blvd
Montgomery, AL 36117
(334) 277-0484

Map & directions

ENT Doctor In Montgomery, AL Central Alabama ENT Associates 6980 Winton Blount Blvd Montgomery, AL 36117 Phone: (334) 277-0484 Call For Fax Call For Pricing
  • Home
  • Staff
  • Office
  • Services
  • New Patients
  • Patient Education
  • Contact Us
  • Appointment Request
  • Copyright © MH Sub I, LLC dba Officite
  • Disclaimer
  • Patient Privacy
  • Site Map