Is My Child Using Headphones Too Loudly? A Parent’s Guide to Safe Listening Headphones have become part of everyday childhood. Children use them for tablets, music, gaming, schoolwork, online videos, audiobooks, long car journeys, flights, and quiet time at home. For parents, this raises an important question: could my child’s headphones be too loud? The concern is sensible. Exposure to loud sounds can affect hearing, especially when repeated over time. The risk is not just about one loud moment. It is also about how loud the sound is, how long the child listens, how often they listen, and whether they are trying to drown out background noise. Mr Gaurav Kumar, Consultant ENT Surgeon , assesses children with ear, hearing, and paediatric ENT concerns from London, East London, Brentwood, Romford, Ilford, Redbridge, Chelmsford, and the wider Essex area. This guide explains why safe listening matters, how parents can reduce risk, and when a child may need a hearing test or ENT review....
What to do if your child has a neck lump? Neck lumps can be due to enlarged lymph nodes, birth cysts or lumps or (only 10%) malignancy. When you notice a neck lump in a child, consider the presentation's age. Is the child getting associated B symptoms, i.e. night sweats, fever, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, trouble breathing, itching or painful swelling in their belly? Note down any recent exposure to a person with flu-like symptoms, a young cat or any change in size or neck lumps becoming multiple. What happens when you visit an ENT surgeon with your child? The ENT surgeon will take a detailed history and perform a clinical examination of the tummy, ear, nose and throat. The ENT surgeon will request special blood tests, a chest X-Ray and an Ultrasound scan of the neck. Depending on the results, it may be required to do a sample surgical biopsy of the lymph node in a few cases. Which lymph node neck lumps in children are ENT surgeons more concerned ab...