Better Speech and Hearing Month

May is Better Speech & Hearing month sponsored by the American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA).

If you or your child doesn't already have a portable music player or something similar, chances are that you will purchase one soon.. It's great that we can enjoy music through advances in audio technology, but at what price? With the increasing popularity of MP3 players, millions of adults and children across the U.S. are at a newfound risk of Noise-Induced Hearing Loss. Listening to headphones at high volumes for extended periods of time can directly result in lifelong hearing loss. The loss may occur painlessly and gradually over time and – this is important! – Noise-Induced Hearing Loss often goes unnoticed until it's too late.

More than half of high school students in the U.S. report having at least one symptom of hearing loss according to a 2006 poll commissioned by the American Speech-Language Hearing Association. But it's not too late to curtail further hearing loss entirely in younger kids who are just starting to use portable music players and similar devices. It's critical that children learn good listening habits, and that parents set guidelines for headphone usage, monitor noise levels, and watch for warning signs of hearing loss. Here are three simple steps you can take to protect your children's – and your own – hearing.

1. Keep the volume down. A good guide is half volume.

2. Limit listening time. Give your hearing "quiet breaks."

3. Upgrade your earbuds, which sit inside the ear, and frequently come with the purchase of a portable music player, to earphones that fit outside the ear and block out unwanted sound. You can also upgrade to earphones that fit snugly into the ear canal and do the same thing.