Sound Advice: Audiology

Road Safety Tips for Children

Here are some friendly reminders and suggestions for keeping children with unilateral hearing loss safe as the weather becomes milder and children increase their outdoor activities and play.

Children with unilateral hearing loss (hearing loss in one ear) often experience difficulty locating where sounds are coming from. In order to localize (locate) sounds, we need sound to be heard by both ears. With normal hearing in both ears, our brain receives the sound signal from both ears and is able identify where a sound is coming from with good accuracy.

With unilateral hearing loss, a child’s brain may only receive the sound from the better ear.  The child may hear the sound but not be able to tell where it is coming from. The greater the degree of hearing loss, the more difficulty the child may experience in localizing sounds. The most noticeable difficulty for families is when calling their child. Their child may not respond due to not hearing or not knowing where their parents are calling from.

Teaching good road safety should start early

Children learn from watching their parents, so set a good example from the start:

· Cross roads at traffic lights and adhere to pedestrian signals.

· Don’t cross the road between parked cars. Children cannot see an approaching vehicle, and the child with a hearing loss may not hear a car or know which side the sound is coming from.

Teach and modify as necessary the “Stop, Look, and Listen” road strategy.

Remember

Generally, children younger than 10 need active adult supervision when crossing the road. They have difficulty judging how far away a car is and how fast it is going. Children also find it hard to identify when and where it is safe to cross the road.

Learning to cross the road safely takes time and practice. Walking with your child to shops or school is an ideal time to teach how to cross the road safely.

Bicycle Safety

All children need to be taught cycling safety. Start teaching them good   riding habits when they get their first bicycle. Children with unilateral

hearing loss may experience additional difficulties when riding their bikes:

When riding on pavement, they may not hear when a car is pulling out of a drive way and the driver may not be able to see them. They need to be taught to be cautious in the driveway.

They may not hear another bike or car coming from behind or be able to decide which side to move when another bicycle rider rings their bell or a car honks its horn. It is important that they have rear view mirrors installed and are instructed how to use them. In addition, they should be taught to ride on the appropriate side of the path or road to avoid unnecessary accidents.

Talking to your child about their hearing loss and the extra precautions they need to take will help them to understand their responsibilities and keep them safe.