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I went to buy a pair of Sony headphones for my 3 1/2 year old daughter so she can listen to her DVD player on an airplane.  Although these particular headphones were marketed for children, there is a warning on the package which state “Not for use by children under 8.”  Is this because of the potential hazard from the cord rapping around the neck of a young child left unattended, or is it a concern about hearing damage to their young developing ears?

I can check with Sony for an official response.

In the meantime, I can tell you that the Sony Children’s Headphones are rated at 90 decibels (dB), which doesn’t meet the NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health) guidelines for safe volume levels. Safe maximum volume level is 80 dB, 90 will incur damage after about 8 hours, and 100 dB, which is the maximum level for most headphones, will start to damage hearing after about 2 hours. Check out this chart to see when hearing damage starts to occur (http://www.betterhearing.org/hearing_loss_prevention/noisethermometer.cfm).

Also, the Sony Children’s Headphones are designed to fit children 8 and older and will not fit your child properly or comfortably.  Look for a pair that limits the volume to 80 decibels and are designed for younger children.  (If you are looking for decibel level spec, it’s usually referred to as “sensitivity” and noted as: 80 dB/mW)

We wanted headphones for our three year old for the airplane.  We found some from Caliphone.  They are designed for school use so we figured they’d hold up.  We ordered directly from the company and had a good experience.  They fit well which was our big concern.  They might not fit the volume recommendations but the iPod has a volume limiter if we get concerned with that.

But,unfortunately, while we have been able to get our kid addicted to TV, he was not so into watching on the ipod or computer with Headphones.  We’ll just have to go back to coloring books and kicking the seat in front of us for entertainment on future airplane rides

here is the product: http://www.califone.com/products/2800.php
$16 and very rugged…