Headphones or earphones? What to choose for kids and teens

C hildren today spend more than fifteen hours a day consuming media on some form of smartphone device. Whether it be watching some youtube video, playing some game, or interacting with their friends, the new playground is digital, and it’s here to stay. You may have had some form of conversation with your child about getting them headphones or earphones either because the constant random sounds are annoying to you or the child wants some form of privacy.

However, the ears of developing children are delicate so it’s important to think your decision through before buying either a headphone or an earphone. Lucky for you, we have laid out all you need to know about this decision for you. 

Are Headphones or Earphones safe?

No, they tend not to be. If you listen to a sound that is above 85 decibels, it is generally considered to be harmful. However, you can listen to 85 decibels for up to 8 hours without causing any serious damage. The problem is that as decibels go above 85, the time at which it becomes dangerous for you decreases more and more. For instance, you can only listen to 111 decibels for roughly 30 seconds before permanent ear damage. Children tend to listen to volumes above 85 decibels and because children spend extensive amounts of time on smart devices, you can see why headphone/earphone usage can be a cause for safety concerns amongst children. But there are some which don’t exceed 85 dB, so basically you need to know your decibels when buying such devices.

Earphones Pros

Earphones can be ideal for school going kids as their small design can easily fit into any backpack without taking a huge chunk of space. Children are messy and you know what else is messy? WIRES. You can find really good wireless earphones so that your child does not get mixed with wires. If you have an Apple product in your house, buy AirPods for the most smooth and comfortable user experience not just for your child but for the rest of the family. 

The quality of sound is actually a lot better. For good quality earphones, you will find a sound that does not exceed 85 decibels so that is almost completely safe for your child for widespread use. Buying good quality earphones also has the added advantage of minimum noise leakage which often is completely zero as well.  

Earphones Cons

Earphones are small, like really small so if you are buying them you need to worry about choking hazards. This problem is even worse if they’re wireless, so always make sure an adult guardian is around when your kid is using their earphones. Earphones are also very clunky in design and can cause discomfort to sensitive ears. Again this is something that varies from earphones to earphones, some of them have a really smooth and easy to wear design, regardless, these are two factors you need to be wary of.

Headphones Pros

Headphones provide a level of comfort that even the best design of earphones cannot. With their cushion layer, it is excellent for children with sensitive ears. The fact that headphones cover all of your ears rather than insert themselves in your ear canal helps them to act as excellent noise cancellation systems. There is a reason why people look more for noise cancellation headphones rather than earphones. Since headphones are bigger, they have more room for louder sound drivers and that often means the best sound quality you can buy. 

Headphones Cons 

Since headphones have powerful drivers inside of them, they can produce sounds that are well above 85 decibels. This means that if the volume of the sound is not under adult supervision, headphones can cause serious permanent damage to your child’s hearing. 

Conclusion

So when buying either headphones or earphones, here are all the factors you need to consider. Be sure to ask all of the concerns mentioned above to your dealer and exercise great caution with what you are buying. We recommend looking into brands such as recognized Phillips, Sony, Apple, or Samsung so that you have better quality assurance. They might be a little heavy on the pocket, but your child’s safety is more important.

• This post is tagged in:

• Headphones
• earphones
• Sony
• Apple
• Samsung
• choking hazard
• sound quality