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Ear defenders for a 3 year old

K8988

Hi everyone,

My son is 3 years old. He has autism and is non verbal. He has alot of sensory needs and hates his head/hair being touched. Lately, he is getting very upset by loud noises and even some noises that aren’t loud, noises that to him are upsetting. He used to just cover his ears but now he covers his ears and cries and he gets very upset and sad. We have bought ear defenders but he won’t wear them, they do feel quite tight and my other children have tried them and said the same. I have tried stretching them out but he still won’t wear them. Are there ear defenders you can get that aren’t quite so tight? He won’t wear anything in ear and I cant explain to him they are tight but will get better as he doesn’t understand/is able to take instructions or conversation. I hope I haven’t made that too complicated.

Thank you.

Parents

  • Perhaps buy ear defenders in an adult size. If they are not strictly for ear protection (e.g., when using machinery), not having a tight fit is not that important. They will still reduce the noise levels even if they are a little too loose to be fully protective.

    If the headband is plastic, it might be possible to loosen it by stretching it and applying a little heat from a hairdryer.

    I'm 50 years older than your son and I'm still finding noise a problem. It's usually the type of noise, rather than the volume, that gets to me. Even something as quiet as the humming of a fridge can set me on edge. A few days ago, I got stuck listening to three awful pop songs in a row while eating dinner. By the third song I'd lost the ability to speak, had to get out of the room, find a quiet spot and work hard for half an hour to calm down. I'm not normally that sensitive; I was probably a bit stressed and tired to start with. Ear defenders would have been a big help if I'd had them to hand.

    So, you're doing the right thing. Your efforts to find the right ear defenders will really pay off for your son and make it easier for him to manage noisy environments. Stick with it and he'll thank you for it. Thumbsup

  • in reply to Damojo

    Thank you for your insight. That’s a brilliant suggestion about the bigger size. Yes, I’m finding with my son, it doesn’t have to be loud these days, sometimes I don’t even hear what he is hearing. Thank you, I appreciate it.

  • in reply to K8988

    Sometimes, for me, it can be an uncomfortable intersection of several noises. 

    Particularly distressing if I can't guess of work out what is making the noise(s). 

    It varies; you can get a neighbourhood hum or hubbub conflicting with shrill speech, or a music beat or the electrical noise of a piece of equipment operating. 

    Don't get me started about vacuum cleaners and ...well, this isn't intended to be a long post, enough said.

    One thing a family member taught me: if e.g. an ambulance with sirens going is approaching: stand still and open your mouth.  This helps me in city centres with tall buildings both sides of the road as the emergency vehicle pushes through traffic.

    I have used the same open your mouth tactic at Air Shows - where you should expect to feel the sound in your rib cage - and lean against a friend if you get disoriented (like your balance system just got jammed by the sound).

  • in reply to K8988

    Within this National Autistic Society article is a section about sound:

    www.autism.org.uk/.../all-audiences

  • in reply to DormouseAtRest_25

    Oh wow! That’s a brilliant tip. I’m still learning all about autism, so I’m still learning how he sees and hears the world. It’s nice to get the insight from other people’s experiences. 

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