Back-to-school is upon us, and you probably are stocking up on pens, pencils and binders. Let’s make healthcare a little easier with a hearing-friendly back-to-school guide for teens.
Discuss Hearing Protection
Noise-induced hearing loss is on the rise among young adults and minors, and in our modern, loud world, it’s not hard to see why. Construction sites, sirens and even headphones assault our ears on a daily basis. And at school, your teen may take classes or participate in after-school activities that also expose them to hazardous noise levels, such as metal shop class or marching band.
Check in with your teen about noise levels and discuss hearing protection. They may not be able to wear over-the-counter earplugs at band practice (those can distort sound), but they can certainly use hearing protection in shop class. Additionally, discourage listening to headphones at their maximum level. Headphones can easily reach 100 decibels, and 85 dB is all it takes to cause hearing damage.
Stock Up
If your teen is already a hearing aid user, then make sure you add hearing essentials to your back-to-school shopping list alongside the binders and pens. Consider things such as:
- Extra hearing aid batteries
- Cleaning tools so your teen can clean their headphones if they get dirty
- Hearing aid manual so your teen, their teacher or any other administrator can troubleshoot problems if they arise
- Lanyard or hearing aid clips so their hearing aids don’t get lost during gym class or after-school sports
- An extra notebook as a fallback option so they can communicate in writing if their hearing aids stop working
Get Their Hearing Checked
It can bring a lot of peace of mind to have your teen’s hearing tested by an audiologist, so you know what their baseline hearing is. As mentioned, hearing loss among teens is on the rise, so it’s a good idea to see if your teen falls into that category, as well. To schedule a hearing test for your teen, call us at Aaron's Hearing Aid & Audiology Center today. We want your teen to have a successful school year, and we want to keep their hearing clear and healthy.