ASHA Reminds You: Enjoy Your MP3's but Use Them Carefully

With many consumers wishing for and expected to receive electronics for gifts this holiday season, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is reminding the public about the potential risks of noise-induced hearing loss and a negative impact on communication development that can happen from the misuse or overuse of various types of devices.

“By no means are we saying that that the public shouldn't buy or have the electronics that are so popular” ASHA President Tommie L. Robinson, Jr, Ph.D., CCC-SLP says. “Rather, it's all about awareness and usage. There are ways to use them that are not only safer and healthier, but also contribute to a person's ability to enjoy the electronics their whole life.”

In the case of listening to MP3 players, ASHA recommends the following hearing protection steps:

•     Turn down the volume. A good rule to follow is do not turn the volume past the 50% mark. (If you can hear a person's music from their earbuds or headphones, the volume is turned up too loud.)
•     Take listening breaks. Don't listen to audio devices for longer than one hour at a time.
•     Adults need to model good behavior. Wear hearing protection such as ear plugs in nosy environments.
•     Take the Buds Pledge from the http://www.listentoyourbuds.org website.
•     Find a local certified audiologist for guidance on hearing protection and care through ASHA's online resource ProSearch (http://www.asha.org/findpro/).

A January 2010 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation study showed that young people between ages 8-18 spend more than 7 hours daily using various forms of entertainment media including televisions, computers, video games, iPods, and cell phones. . The study also found that ownership of personal audio devices such as iPods and MP3 players among children increased from 18 to 76 percent in just the past 5 years.

The consequences of a hearing loss can be devastating, especially for a child. In fact, studies show that even a mild hearing loss due to excessive noise can lead to delays in speech and language development, affecting a student's ability to pay attention in the classroom. Exposure to loud noise has also been linked to numerous physiological changes, sleep difficulties, digestive problems, delayed emotional development, stress related disorders, behavioral problems, body fatigue, and possible immunological effects.

Meanwhile, ASHA is concerned that overuse of entertainment media could reduce opportunities for language interactions and reading and writing. For example, children need practice using words and interacting with adults and peers. Thus, if they spend excessive amounts of time with such media, it “may adversely affect language development because these children are not receiving the language models and play interactions upon which further language acquisition is built.” (Beyond Baby Talk: From Sounds to Sentences, A Parent's Complete Guide to Language Development (2001))

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