Loud House Chaos

Introduction

As I drove in a traffic jam earlier today, I was confronted by the earsplitting sounds. Motorcycles were accelerating, huge trucks were racing their motors, horns were honking, and cars were speeding and braking quickly. Because I was driving through a tunnel, all these echoed sounds were magnified. Overall these noises were the deafening sound of a car audio system with music blasting. The thundering noise was blaring so loudly that my truck and entire body vibrated. No discernible music could be heard because the booming base distorted the tune.

The annoyance of this noise pollution caused me to consider the fate of children who are exposed to continuous thundering music, roaring gaming systems, and piercing television surround sound systems within their homes.

When parents permit their children to regularly hear these and other extremely loud noises when they are at home, the devastating effects impact their performance at school.

While I am not a medical professional, I offer my perspective on this problem as an educator and family engagement influencer.

Did You Know the Constant Exposure to Loud Noise Harms Children?

These are the things that happen to children when parents carelessly surround them with blaring noises for extended periods.

The most significant problem that results is noise-induced hearing loss. Once the children impacted by hearing loss enroll in school, they may require specially designed instruction to support their learning needs. This may include speech and language services along with the use of assistive devices.

When parents permit boisterous noise within their home, they display imposing behavior. This reflects a lack of consideration for others and translates into very poor manners. Children who fail to learn appropriate manners behaviors at home will be impolite at school. Educators will be forced to teach socially appropriate behaviors at school.

Children exposed to constant noise chaos are unable to get adequate sleep. Exhaustion may cause children to be irritable and withdrawn at school. They are likely to fall asleep when they should be actively learning. Sadly, when children are tired, they are unable to put forth their best educational effort. They are likely to fall behind in their studies and probably will not thrive academically.

When loudness permeates a home, children will probably be forced to yell and scream to be heard. These behaviors will transfer when they attend school as impacted students use extremely loud voices. Teachers are left to reteach appropriate social responses that are conducive to the classroom environment.

Explosive and chaotic noise within the home may cause students to develop poor social behaviors at school that could result in aggression and acting out. Associated behaviors may include fighting and bullying peers.

Children are likely to be unfocused and lack focus with so much noise stimulation at home. Also connected to this is the susceptibility to hyperactivity. These will adversely impact their academic and behavioral performance at school. Teachers are likely to implement intervention strategies for these students to facilitate higher levels of success. School leaders and other educators who support these learners may ultimately encourage parents to work with a mental or behavioral health provider to secure additional assistance for the student. A medical diagnosis may result.

The continuous exposure to irresponsible and erratic noise at home may interfere with a child’s acquisition of language and ability to listen as well as to learn. The noise may impede their overall ability to learn.

The Moral of This Story Is the Conclusion

The solution to this problem is simple.

Parents, stop the noise pollution in your homes. Consider the impact all the loud sounds that constantly permeate your home have on your children at school.

Just turn it down.

Thank you for reading this story. Be sure to share it on your social media platforms to raise awareness about the harmful impact destructive noise has on children. Also, please consider adding a tip to help fund my work to increase family engagement in education.

This story was originally published on Medium.com in ILLUMINATION-Curated.