There are several factors that can cause hearing loss in children.
Hearing loss that children are particularly susceptible to include
- Mumps hearing loss
- Headphone hearing loss
- Drug-induced hearing loss
- Hearing loss due to high fever
As parents, we want to be careful to prevent our children from developing these types of hearing loss.
Let's take a closer look at the hearing loss that children are most likely to suffer from.
Causes of Hearing Loss in Children
There are several things to keep in mind as a parent in preventing hearing loss in children.
- Volume when listening to music
- high fever
- Mumps
- Medication
High fever is especially important to be aware of, as it can be fatal to the child.
Let's look at the reasons why we should be careful about these.
Volume when listening to music
Smartphones, music players, and other devices allow us to listen to music anytime, anywhere.
My child was also interested in the headphones I was using when he was 3 years old and found himself listening to music.
Thus, it is possible to listen to music using earphones or headphones from an early age, such as elementary school students.
However, we don't really know how loud children are listening to music.
In fact, in one high school in the U.S., half of the difference students had hearing loss.
This is what we call headphone hearing loss.
The early age at which music can be enjoyed is causing more damage to the ears.
Headphone hearing loss is explained in "What is hearing loss caused by earphones? The topic Earphone Hearing Loss/Headphone Hearing Loss".
Please refer to it.
High fever
Although not limited to the ear, a high fever can be very dangerous.
It is impossible to prevent a child from catching a cold or having a fever.
It is necessary for them to have a cold in order for their immune system to grow strong and healthy.
However, a high fever should be brought down with medication as soon as possible.
This is a completely different story from that of immunity.
High fever can damage the reproductive function in boys, damage the brain, and of course, damage the ears.
Acquired hearing loss due to high fever is quite common.
Incidentally, my wife also suffered hearing loss due to this.
Mumps
The mumps is also dangerous, although it is covered in some ways with high fever.
Mumps is caused by a virus called mumps virus, and hearing loss caused by this virus is called mumps deafness.
The scary thing about mumps hearing loss is not that it makes it difficult to hear, but that there is a high possibility of hearing loss.
Medication
There is also a risk of hearing loss due to side effects of medications.
However, this does not mean that hearing loss is a side effect of any medication.
It is very unlikely that side effects from common cold medications will cause hearing loss.
(We cannot say that it is 100% certain.)
Things to Consider to Prevent Hearing Loss in Children
Each of the above mentioned hearing loss that children are prone to.
Here are some things to keep in mind to prevent such hearing loss.
Volume when listening to music
The only way to prevent headphone hearing loss is to lower the volume when listening to music.
If your child is listening to music too loudly, make an effort to lower the volume.
It is difficult to know how loud your child is listening to music, though.
If you suddenly turn down the volume too loudly, they may feel that the music is not loud enough and will quickly fall back to the previous level.
If you turn the volume down a little and leave it that way for a period of time, you will get used to the volume.
Once you get used to it, turn the volume down a little again, and gradually lower the volume.
High fever
Don't give your child a fever! Since it is difficult to say, it is important to deal with a fever after it has occurred.
A persistent high fever not only takes away the child's physical strength, but also puts a strain on the body.
Therefore, antipyretics and fever-reducing measures should be taken.
Of course, it is important to take antipyretics in accordance with the doctor's instructions.
Mumps
When I was a kid, the sooner you get the mumps, the better! I was often told that this was the case.
Incidentally, I had the mumps in the upper grades of elementary school and had a very bad time.
Luckily, I did not suffer from hearing loss.
Nowadays, unlike when I was a child, you can be vaccinated against mumps.
Of course, parents can choose not to vaccinate their children, but I think it is better for children to be vaccinated against mumps to prevent hearing loss.
Medication
Don't take the pills! It is quite difficult to say.
I mean, I've already told you to use antipyretics, so don't use any more medicine! It would be incoherent to say so.
When giving medication to children, please make sure that they are examined by a doctor and that the prescribed medication is given to them in accordance with the dosage and administration.
If you are concerned, it is also a good idea to ask the pharmacist about side effects beforehand.
There are things that parents can do for their children in this way, and it is difficult to say that they should do everything properly, but we would like to reduce the risk of hearing loss as much as possible by doing what we can.
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