A peer-reviewed paper published on Tuesday, November 10, warns that daily headphone or earbud use in children poses a "hidden" public health concern, with experts calling for more guidance on their impact and use.
Dr Aric Sigman, the author of the paper, says that "we are ignoring a hidden public health concern", adding: "Children's sonic experiences have been significantly neglected: there is currently no UK national guidance."
Two significant concerns identified
By age 12, most children use headphones or earbuds daily, which creates two significant concerns, the paper points out. Excessive sound exposure can cause hearing loss and tinnitus; and due to the rise of noise-cancelling headphones, children are not getting vital environmental sounds and spatial cues, which could impair the natural development of speech, language, and social communication skills.
Particularly in the run up to Christmas, when parents might be considering buying their children a new pair of headphones or earbuds, the authors of the paper are urging people to choose headphones and devices that allow volume limits to be set.
Advice for parents and civic harm warning
As well as calling for national guidance on headphone use in children, the authors of the paper have issued a plea to parents. Parents should choose headphones and devices that allow volume limits to be set, model healthy listening behaviour, and have a greater awareness of tinnitus and the importance of asking children about symptoms.
The author recommends the use of the simple public health analogy: "Sound exposure is like sun exposure: long enough, and bright enough, and you'll burn."
The paper warns of a profound "civic harm" as children spend their formative years in isolated, personalised sonic environments. The author says: "Whether using standard or noise-cancelling headphones, such sonic separation prevents children from interacting with others and learning the necessary subtle nuanced behavioural protocols and reactions that make up the foundation of social skills."
"More broadly, it defies the absolute need to, at times, simply be present, tacitly condoning a benign disregard for the environment and individuals around you, amounting to an abdication of responsibility to be part of society."
The authors have called for the government to introduce national guidance on headphone use. "Noticing the presence of others is the basic glue that supports social cohesion, which is particularly important at a time of social divisions and increasing adolescent loneliness."
