Safe Sound Indicators

Our preschools and primary schools can be very noisy places with excessive noise levels having the potential to cause damage to both children’s and teacher’s hearing.

Hearing loss that is the result of loud sounds is referred to as “Noise Induced Hearing Loss” (NIHL) and open-plan classrooms can often become a very real danger zone.

A survey undertaken by The National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) of some early childhood centres found that noisy play and noisy toys may be damaging the hearing of one in five preschool children and one in three early childhood education teachers. Some children were so distressed by high noise levels that they demonstrated their discomfort by putting their hands over their ears and some were so distraught by loud noise they cried.

It was also demonstrated from a Massey University study that often children and staff were receiving an average 85 decibels of noise during the day which is the level at which adults working in a factory should be considering ear muffs. The study also found that 75% of children and just under half of staff were exposed to dangerous levels of noise peaking at 140dB - the equivalent of a jet plane taking off.

Over a third of teachers also said that they had experienced buzzing or ringing in their ears (Tinnitus) and hearing loss, which they believed was attributable to years of working in noisy classroom environments.

Our early childhood teachers are clearly concerned about these issues with one Kindy teacher saying that she was constantly monitoring noise levels in her classroom and often instructed the children to play more quietly. She was aware that international research had shown children under 6 were more sensitive to noise and could sustain acute cochlear damage far easier than mature people.

We at the Hearing Association are seriously concerned for our children’s future hearing health and would like to see our local early childhood learning centres equipped with Safe Sound Indicators (SSI’s) to alert children and staff to unsafe noise levels.

The Safe Sound Indicator (SSI) is a ‘traffic light’ learning tool developed by NFD from a concept of Jamie Fenton’s that was designed to help prevent NIHL loss in children and teachers by alerting them to the dangers of excessive noise.

The green light shows when classroom noise is at a safe level, amber to warn that it’s getting too loud and red when noise reaches a harmful, potentially damaging level. This visual feedback enables children and teachers to identify and manage high noise exposure. It also encourages them to think about protecting their hearing.

Help us to help children save their precious hearing from damage. We would like to distribute SSI’s to as many early learning centres as possible in Christchurch, but need your help to raise the funds necessary to do so.

Source: Parts of the above used with permission from The National Foundation for the Deaf and The Otago Daily Times.