What is the best hearing protection for babies?

Authored by Daniel Fink, MD, Chair, The Quiet Coalition

Good Housekeeping UK just published an article about the best noise-cancelling baby headphones for festival season. The article correctly notes that loud noise is bad for babies’ hearing and recommends using what the British call “ear defenders” starting at 3 months old. 

The report also states that if a place seems loud to an adult it’s probably too loud for a baby. It lists noisy restaurants, parties, sports events as well as the music festivals that prompted this report. 

Photo credit: Deep B.

I usually write, “Turn down the volume, leave the noisy environment or use hearing protection,” but I don’t think hearing protection is sufficient for the loud noise at music festivals. An infant’s ears must last an entire lifetime. If it sounds loud, it’s too loud for both infants and parents. 

My advice is to leave the baby at home with a sitter, or better yet don’t go to noisy events. Even the best hearing protection may not prevent auditory damage from sounds greater than 100 A-weighted* decibels and it just isn’t worth the risk for parents or children. 

*A-weighting adjusts sound measurements for the frequencies heard in human speech.