TEENAGERS

Hearing loss, even a mild one, can have an effect on your teen's grades and isolate your child in social environments. Many people believe that teens will refuse to wear hearing aids for fear of “being different”, but studies indicate that teenagers are more concerned about being able to hear well, especially at school, than with physical appearance.

If your teen shows signs of hearing loss, schedule a free consultation at Jones Hearing as soon as possible. Our hearing professionals can evaluate your teen's hearing and diagnose a problem effectively. If a hearing aid is prescribed, the hearing professional may be able to fit and program the hearing aid on the same day.

>> Hearing Health Education
>> Fashion Accessorizing

Hearing Health Education

Especially with today’s stereo and personal entertainment advances, educating your teen on hearing health is essential. Many baby boomers are now losing their hearing early due to noise-induced hearing loss caused in their teens and young adulthood by attending loud concerts in small areas, working without protective ear plugs in loud industrial areas, and/or other abuse due to lack of good hearing health practices. The same may also be true for this new generation.

Make your teen aware of the potential dangers of loud music or loud environments. Hearing loss is gradual and it may take years for damage to the ear to become apparent. Talk with your teenager about hearing health so he can make informed decisions about protection and prevention. Prevention through awareness is the key.

Attending concerts or occassionally listening to personal music at full volume is common. Over time, however, prolonged exposure to loud noise can lead to a condition known as noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL).

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss

• At a concert, if you have to yell to be heard, the volume could be damaging. If you experience tinnitus (ringing or buzzing in the ears) during or after an event, it may be a sign of potential damage.
• Personal music players are among the chief causes of NIHL among teens. If someone standing next to you can hear what is playing, even faintly, the volume is high enough to cause damage to your ears.
• Prolonged exposure to everyday sounds (including traffic, construction sites, video games, industrial noises, lawn mowers, blenders, etc.) may also lead to eventual hearing loss.
  Wisely using ear plugs and reducing volume serve as preventative measures. Jones Hearing can make discreet custom skin-toned ear plugs for you to wear in potentially harmful sound environments or, if you want to make a personal fashion statement, Jones can make ear plugs in a variety of colors.

Fashion Accessorizing

The current rage in tech-savvy teens (and adults) is to use the most up-to-date technology available, like iPods and other digital media players. The hearing aid industry now provides custom made ear buds in fashionable colors that attach to such personal entertainment devices. The technology in these ear buds reveals more of the original detail, presence, and spectrum of music and can actually be programmed like a good stereo for maximum sound quality.

Custom fitted ear buds can also be ordered for sports-minded teens so they can listen to their music when exercising, biking, jogging, etc. Such ear molds rest in the ear more comfortably and are less likely to dislodge or fall out during an activity than the one-size-fits-all ear phones or ear buds that come with the audio devices.

Jones Hearing professionals can make ear molds on-site in many of our locations (contact us to find out which locations) and program your accessory immediately.