Should you bring a baby to a concert?

by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Photo Credit: Ayoub Galuia

Should you bring a baby to a concert? That’s the question the American Academy of Audiology recently asked. The AAA says, “No,” and I heartily agree.

Why? Noise damages the ears, causing hearing loss, tinnitus, and hyperacusis. There are no evidence-based recommendations for safe noise exposure levels for children, with all recommendations based on extrapolations from noise exposure levels derived for adult workers. For example, headphones are falsely marketed as safe for children using the industrial-strength 85-decibel noise exposure level based on occupational noise exposure standards that don’t even protect adults from hearing loss. Pediatricians often remind internists like me that a child is not a small adult. In particular, noise can have deleterious effects on the developing ear and the auditory processing pathways in the brain. 

Parents already understand this concept when it comes to sun exposure. They make their little ones wear hats and bathing suits that protect the back and chest, and apply sunscreen. The American Academy of Pediatrics’ site has excellent recommendations for limiting sun exposure but its noise exposure recommendations aren’t as clearly stated. 

As I recently presented at the 15th Congress of the International Commission on Biological Effects of Noise in Copenhagen, the published literature strongly suggests that hearing loss in old age (“Age-Related Hearing Loss”) is largely due to the cumulative effects of excessive lifetime noise exposure. Just as preventing skin damage in old age starts in childhood—as does preventing other adult diseases and conditions like obesity and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease—preventing hearing loss in old age starts in childhood, too.

Thanks to the American Academy of Audiology for helping publicize the need for parents to avoid exposing their young children to loud noise at rock concerts.