Study: 20% of Teens Suffer Hearing Loss

Wednesday, 18 August 2010 | by Pat's Picks

Perhaps your teenager isn’t ignoring you says the LA Times. Maybe they just can’t hear you. A new study has found that one in five teens has suffered hearing loss. Most experts believe the increase, up 30 percent over the last 15 years, can be attributed to listening to music through headphones. Hearing loss can cause a host of problems, especially in school. Explains the paper: “In English, soft high-frequency sounds such as ‘s,’ ‘f,’ ‘th’ and ‘sh’ “carry a great deal of meaning, and are very important sounds to be able to discern. But those are the first to be lost, especially in a noisy environment like a classroom.” Expert suggest turning down your iPod and wearing ear plugs at concerts: “Once you lose your hearing, you can’t get it back.”