Practice Safe Sound Scenarios With Kids - Part 2

In the first part of this article we looked at how to practice safe sound with your kids through educating them and making them aware of the dangers of over exposure to loud noises. In this article we look at ways to practice safe sound levels in other aspects of their lives.

Other ways to practice safe sound environments are:

At home:

• Turn down the volume. If it is too loud for you, generally speaking it is too loud for your kids.

• Instead of turning to the tv to switch off, tune in to your kids by spending time with them to find out how they are doing, what they are interested in, future traveling adventures, DMC’s, or just casual chats. Your kids might not show it but they need your influence in their lives. Not your judgement, your understanding. Nothing is as effective as a constructive conversation.

• Try different activities with your children, like planting herbs or veggies, painting, baking, making a mess, card games - anything to get them offline.

In school:

• Education is always key. Work with students and teach them how to safely enjoy sound.

• Suggest inter school projects where abled hearing students work with hearing impaired students towards a common goal or project. Empathy and education is obtained from firsthand experience.

• Consider purchasing a decibel meter to measure the noise levels in PE classes, sporting events, classrooms and hallways. Make students are aware of how noisy these areas are and point out the potential risk to their hearing. This is a great time to educate and coach the students about hearing safety.

• Discourage “noise competitions” at sporting or other events.

• Share hearing protective gear in classrooms that regularly have unsafe noise levels such as music classes, home economics, woodwork or arts.

• Request that speakers/amplifiers are not positioned near students during assembly.

• Encourage teachers to include classroom activities on noise-induced hearing loss.

• Inform parents, teachers, social workers and guardians about safe sound environments.

Enjoying sound is one of the greatest sensory gifts that human beings can experience. The goal is not to become the noise police but rather to teach our children how to appreciate what they have before they lose it. One party too many can cost you more than your social status, it can mean the difference between years of therapy and coping techniques to accept the loss of a treasured sense.

As a collective I feel like we have become busier and less in tune with the subtle needs and considerations of basic human connection. So, it becomes our responsibility as leaders for the youth to hold their hands, still their minds and show them how to find a quiet space within themselves and their environments for their own benefit and well-being.