Play it safe: headphones for children

Protecting young ears

Headphones for children need to do just that: protect children from hearing damage! And this can happen if our children listen to their favourite music and podcasts far too loudly over a long period of time. But what does “too loud” actually mean? Opinions differ on this, but the World Health Organisation (WHO) says that 85 decibels still safe if you are exposed to this volume for less than 60 minutes a day.

Do you even need special headphones for children?

Strictly speaking, not really, because standard on-ear headphones always fit children’s heads. The headband does not press too hard on the ears at its smallest adjustment.

If you decide to use these normal headphones for your children, a correct volume setting is an absolute must! Luckily, all reasonably modern tablets, smartphones and MP3 players offer a software-side limitation to a certain maximum value. Please make use of this and don’t leave it to your children.

Play it safe: headphones with a built-in volume limiter

However, if normal headphones are too unsafe for you because, despite the volume limitation in MP3 players, smartphones and tablets, you may still be afraid that it could still be too loud, we recommend headphones that have been specially developed for children. The special thing about them: Their volume is automatically (usually) limited to 85 decibels.

In general, this solution, which is usually realised by means of a simple resistor, is welcome, but you should not forget that this limitation can also be “overridden”, as it is a relative specification and, technically speaking, more of an attenuation. The built-in attenuator means that the child has to be careful: With powerful amplifiers such as USB sound cards or hi-fi systems, it can still be dangerously loud and also cause unpleasant distortion.

Headphones that have an (active) digital limiter built in are better, as this reduces the volume – no matter how loud the source is. Unfortunately, these headphones are few and only a few are available on the market.