From Jamie Berke,
Your Guide to Deafness.
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If you do not protect your teenager's hearing, your teenager could be a future member of the Association of Late Deafened Adults or of Hearing Loss Association of America, because of hearing loss at an early age.

Noise Produces Hearing Loss in Teens

Why would this happen to your teenager? Teenagers who are exposed to extremely loud noises - through boomboxes for example, can experience gradual hearing loss. This hearing loss can be prevented through measures such as the use of earplugs.

I know firsthand the damage that can be done by exposing young ears to sounds that are too loud for them. When I was growing up, I was encouraged to turn the volume on my hearing aids up as loud as possible. Back then, it was thought that doing that would make sound more accessible. What we did not know then, was that that loud sound was probably making my hearing loss worse! Although my loss was progressive in nature, the further loss of my hearing may have been hastened by this.

President Has Hearing Loss

One former teenager who is already hard of hearing due in part to the years that he played the saxophone in a band, is former President Clinton. Younger generations are at even more risk, as reported by US News in its April 26, 1999 issue, in a cover story titled "What'd you say? -- a high-volume world takes its toll on ever younger ears."

Rock Concerts Cause Hearing Loss

If you have ever been to a rock concert, you know how loud they are. I am deaf and once went to a rock concert at my high school. I could hear the music even without my hearing aids, it was so loud! I can only imagine how much damage that would do to a hearing teenager's ears over time, if he went to several rock concerts.

This is a joint feature with the parenting teens guide at About. See Music and Your Teens: "Turn That Down!!".