One Mother’s Concern Leads To Safer Earphones For Kids

Like many parents, Christine Ingemi became increasingly troubled about the potential damage mp3 players could inflict on the hearing of her children. The New Hampshire mother of four decided to take matters into her own hands.

With the explosion of the portable media device industry, pretty much anyone who uses mp3 players and other devices is potentially placing themselves at risk for permanent hearing damage. Mrs. Ingemi “saw a need and set out to create a solution”. The result: the patented iHearSafe earbuds.

What makes this product special is the fact that it places an upper limit on the volume entering the user’s ears. That limit is 80 decibels, just below industry thresholds where potential hearing damage can occur. The inventor-mom also notes one other important feature that might be an added bonus for frustrated parents. The fact that the earbuds do not occlude the ears and volume stays low, children are still able to “hear everything going on around them, including a parent calling them from the other room”.

Because Mrs. Ingemi does not have a background in electronics, acoustics or hearing science she wanted to make certain her product performed as advertised. She recruited scientists at Quest Technologies, a company that manufactures sound level measurement equipment, to put the iHearSafe product through its paces. She admits she did not “get it right the first try” but the prototypes that followed achieved the desired outcomes.

Since the release of the iHearSafe earbuds, her company, Ingemi Corporation, “has been flooded with orders from around the world”. The interest in the product has gone “beyond her wildest dreams”, Ingemi says. Now she spends her days passing out free sets of the earbuds to school children and developing the next products in the iHearSafe line including a Bluetooth device.

Ingemi hopes that one day the manufacturers of portable media devices will supply visible labeling on their product packaging regarding the potential hazards associated with careless use. “Kids don’t understand the consequences of turning up the volume”, according to Ingemi. She concludes, “If we start educating at a young enough age, we can get them into the lifelong habit of safe listening.”

Comments

[L Coates]

This is wonderful. Years I ago I purchased a my first sony walkman for my then 6 year old niece. She is now 23. I LOVED the fact that the volume was pre-set for safety. I now have my own children and have looked for something similar to no avail!! This is wonderful I will definitely order these!!!