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Hearing Loss in Children

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Preventing Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

What to know

  • Hearing plays an essential role in communication, speech and language development, and learning.
  • Even a small amount of hearing loss can have profound, negative effects on speech, language comprehension, communication, classroom learning, and social development.
Young girl covering her ears because of loud sounds

Quick facts

  • Studies indicate that without proper intervention, children with mild to moderate hearing loss, on average, do not perform as well in school as children with no hearing loss.
  • This gap in academic achievement widens as students progress through school.12

Prevalence

An estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6–19 years (approximately 5.2 million) and 17% of adults aged 20–69 years (approximately 26 million) have suffered permanent damage to their hearing from excessive exposure to noise.34

Causes

Hearing loss can result from damage to structures and/or nerve fibers in the inner ear that respond to sound. This type of hearing loss, termed “noise-induced hearing loss,” is usually caused by exposure to excessively loud sounds and cannot be medically or surgically corrected. Noise-induced hearing loss can result from a one-time exposure to a very loud sound, blast, or impulse, or from listening to loud sounds over an extended period.

Prevention

Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud sound is preventable.5 To reduce their risk of noise-induced hearing loss, adults and children can do the following:

Understand that noise-induced hearing loss can lead to communication difficulties, learning difficulties, pain or ringing in the ears (tinnitus), distorted or muffled hearing, and an inability to hear some environmental sounds and warning signals.

Identify sources of loud sounds (such as gas-powered lawnmowers, snowmobiles, power tools, gunfire, or music) that can contribute to hearing loss and try to reduce exposure.

Adopt behaviors to protect their hearing:

  • Avoid or limit exposure to excessively loud sounds
  • Turn down the volume of music systems
  • Move away from the source of loud sounds when possible
  • Use hearing protection devices when it is not feasible to avoid exposure to loud sounds or reduce them to a safe level5

Seek hearing evaluation by a licensed audiologist or other qualified professional, especially if there is concern about potential hearing loss.

Foods and Drinks for 6 to 24 Month Olds

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When your child is about 6 months old, you can start introducing him or her to foods and drinks other than breast milk and infant formula.

The foods and drinks you feed your child are sometimes called complementary foods. You can think of these as “complementing,” or adding to, the breast milk or infant formula that you continue to feed your child.

Between your child’s first and second year, he or she will develop the skills needed to participate in meals with the family, and by the time your child is 2 years old, he or she will be able to eat most of the same foods as the rest of the family. Some skills, such as finger feeding, drinking from a cup, and using a spoon are part of your child’s developmental milestones. Explore the pages below to learn more.

Child Development Basics

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Healthy Development

The early years of a child’s life are very important for their health and development. Healthy development means that children of all abilities, including those with special health care needs, are able to grow up where their social, emotional and educational needs are met. Having a safe and loving home and spending time with family―playing, singing, reading, and talking―are very important. Proper nutrition, exercise, and sleep also can make a big difference.

Effective Parenting Practices

Parenting takes many different forms. However, some positive parenting practices work well across diverse families and in diverse settings when providing the care that children need to be happy and healthy, and to grow and develop well. A comprehensive report looked at the evidence in scientific publications for what works, and found these key ways that parents can support their child’s healthy development:

  • Responding to children in a predictable way
  • Showing warmth and sensitivity
  • Having routines and household rules
  • Sharing books and talking with children
  • Supporting health and safety
  • Using appropriate discipline without harshness

Parents who use these practices can help their child stay healthy, be safe, and be successful in many areas—emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and social. Read more about the report here.

Developmental Milestones

Skills such as taking a first step, smiling for the first time, and waving “bye-bye” are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (for example, crawling and walking).

Children develop at their own pace, so it’s impossible to tell exactly when a child will learn a given skill. However, the developmental milestones give a general idea of the changes to expect as a child gets older.

As a parent, you know your child best. If your child is not meeting the milestones for their age, or if you think there could be a problem with your child’s development, talk with your child’s doctor and share your concerns. Don’t wait.

Developmental Monitoring and Screening

Parents, grandparents, early childhood providers, and other caregivers can participate in developmental monitoring, which observes how your child grows and changes over time and whether your child meets the typical developmental milestones in playing, learning, speaking, behaving, and moving.

Developmental screening takes a closer look at how your child is developing. A missed milestone could be a sign of a problem, so when you take your child to a well visit, the doctor, nurse, or another specialist might give your child a brief test, or you will complete a questionnaire about your child.

If the screening tool identifies an area of concern, a formal developmental evaluation may be needed, where a trained specialist takes an in-depth look at a child’s development.

If a child has a developmental delay, it is important to get help as soon as possible. When a developmental delay is not found early, children must wait to get the help they need to do well in social and educational settings.

Learn more about developmental monitoring and screening

Communicating with Your Children

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Good communication between you and your child is important for developing a positive relationship and will make it easier for you to talk about difficult topics as they get older. One of the most challenging tasks to learn is how to respond to behavior. Learn more about using praise, engaging in play, and participating in active listening to build strong communication with your child.

Responding to Behavior

Attention from you and other caregivers is important to your child. In fact, toddlers and preschoolers demand A LOT of adult attention. Attention can be both positive and negative.

Positive Attention

Positive attention is used to show your child he has done something you like. Positive attention includes things like:

  • praise
  • hugs
  • kisses
  • pats on the back
  • high-fives

Negative Attention

Negative attention lets your child know you do not like what he has done. Negative attention includes things like

  • scolding
  • correcting
  • yelling

There are two key things to remember about attention:

  • Any attention (positive or negative) your child receives right after his behavior increases the chance that the behavior will happen again.
  • Negative attention becomes a problem when we use it MORE than positive attention.

Let’s take a look at an example

Example:
You are in the check-out line at the grocery store with your child.

Example: Positive Attention

If your child waits by your side, you might say, “Thank you for being patient and staying by me.”

Example: Negative Attention

If your child runs away, you yell at him, “Come back here, now!”

When to Not Give Attention

Any attention you give after your child’s behavior makes the behavior more likely to happen again. So, if you give your child attention after he does something you do not like, the misbehavior can increase.

You can decrease misbehavior by limiting the negative attention you give. Ignoring is another good way to limit attention for behaviors you do not like. Click here for more information on ignoring.

Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention

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Child abuse and neglect are serious public health problems that can have long-term impact on health, opportunity, and wellbeing. CDC works to understand the problems of child abuse and neglect and prevent them.

Fast Facts: Preventing Child Abuse & Neglect