Is your teen not listening? Maybe there's a reason

Hastings Tribune editorial cartoonist Wayne Stroot commented on modern students with a cartoon in Wednesday's Gazette, listing modern school boy's gear: sneakers, $30, backpack and supplies, $55 ... iPhone with apps, $379.99!

The iPhone and new iPad tablet computer set the bar for tech-savvy students, but some think it is an earlier Apple product, the iPod and its imitators that may have had a more long-term affect on young people, and not a good one.

According to a study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, U.S. adolescents aged 12 to 19 were more likely to have hearing loss in 2005-06 than they were from 1988 to 1994.

The JAMA article makes no conclusion as to the cause, the circumstantial evidence seems strong -- the first iPod was introduced in October 2001.

The study, which examined 2,928 subjects in 1988-1994, and 1,771 in 2006-05, aged 12 to 19, found that those with any hearing loss climbed from 14.9 percent in 1988-1994 to 19.5 percent in 2005-06.

But don't be too quick to blame Apple -- audiologists say there may other reasons for the hearing loss. For one thing, individuals from families below the federal poverty threshold -- kids who should be less likely to own the latest electronic devices -- had significantly higher odds of hearing loss than those above the poverty line.

And, the hearing loss researchers found usually isn't associated with exposure to loud noises, although they aren't ruling out earbuds with music cranked up too high.

Some audiologists think more genetic disorders are to blame -- for example, more premature babies, who are more susceptible to hearing loss, are surviving.

For whatever reason, a third more teenagers have some hearing loss than kids in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and one in 20 has enough damage that it affects his ability to listen and learn.

We all know teens need all the help they can get when it comes to hearing.

The study just reinforces the importance of screening children for hearing loss, and teaching them to turn down their iPods -- generally, if someone else can hear the music, it's too loud.