Educators need to be aware of the risk of hearing loss among children. Every day, millions of children put their hearing at risk by listening to personal audio technology too long and too loudly.
Roughly 13 out of every 100 school children have some degree of hearing loss. Hearing loss can have a number of different causes, from genetic disease to illness, but the one that has come to the forefront with the recent rise in popularity of MP3 players is Noise-Induced Hearing Loss.
Students tend to listen to their music at high volumes. Forty percent of students reported they set music players' volumes too loud, and 13% play music very loud, according to a March 2006 national poll commissioned by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. If you can hear music coming from a student's player, the volume is too loud and the student is risking having hearing loss.
Hearing loss can lead to numerous problems in school. Students with hearing loss can have difficulty with academic achievement, including language arts, vocabulary, arithmetic, and problem solving. They score lower on achievement tests, and have greater needs for special education or extra support in the classroom. Hearing loss can also cause social development problems.
There are many steps educators can take to help prevent hearing loss in their students. The top Three Things Teachers Can Do are:
1. Incorporate the topic of noise and hearing loss into your lesson plans or a classroom activity.
2. Be informed and aware about the implications of hearing loss in children.
3. Be aware of the warning signs.
For more information about Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, including warning signs and further prevention steps, browse the links at the left.
Educators can also encourage students to play Turn Down the Volume. It's a fun and educational online video game for kids ages 6 and up.
And classroom teachers of students K-8 can find Lesson Plans & Classroom Activities from various institutes on this web site as well.
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