Listen up to advice on National Ear Care Day

Improper use of earphones has become the major cause of noise-induced hearing loss among the young, medical experts revealed on Sunday, National Ear Care Day.

The Shanghai Health Promotion Commission has teamed up with health educational facilities and leading experts from Xinhua Hospital and Shanghai 6th People's Hospital to visit local schools and provide lectures for students and parents on hearing protection.

"Noise injury due to improper use of earphones is prevalent among young people, who wear them all the time even when sleeping," said Dr Yang Jun from Xinhua Hospital.

"It is important to purchase qualified products and follow a 60-60 rule, which means the volume is set below 60 percent of the maximum and not use earphone for over 60 minutes each time.

"People had better not use earphones in a noisy environment, because people are likely to turn up the volume. The high-intensity volume can cause irreversible damage to the inner ears."

For little children, secretory otitis media is the commonest cause for their hearing loss, doctors said.

"Mostly secretory otitis media is caused by cold and it usually takes place among children between six months and three years old," said Dr Shi Haibo from Shanghai 6th People's Hospital.

"The disease can be cured by itself and fluid is absorbed by the body within four to six weeks. But some people can have frequent outbreaks, resulting in secondary infection and dense fluid. It can bring suffering to children and cause permanent hearing loss."

Compared with acute otitis media, secretory otitis media has no significant symptoms, which also can vary from people to people.

In some children the issue is not detected until hearing screenings or medical checks of the ear.

Parents should be aware of the issue and take their children for diagnosis and treatment, if they complain about low TV volume, have poor language development or poor balance, he said.