Safe Listening for Kids

By Jamie Wiersma

As a mom, I have been protective of my children’s ears. We have an older iPod that isn’t being used anymore and my 8-years old has expressed an interest in using it. However, I’ve always been worried that I would be unable to control the volume and that at times he may listen to music too loudly, potentially damaging his ear drums. When I read about Etymotic‘s Ety•kids³ Safe-Listening Headset + Earphones, I was immediately intrigued.

When we gave my son the headphones* to try out, he was VERY excited. The box comes with 3 different ACCU•Fit eartips and after we tried out the different sizes, we found one that fit him. He’s thrilled and we can relax, knowing that we are protecting his ears. The earphones are designed for ages 4+ and anyone overly sensitive to loud sound. It operates with most portable devices but is custom designed to work with the iPod, iPhone and iPad. What does that mean? The Ety•Kids³ (as opposed to the Ety•Kids5) includes a 3-button control headset that allows you to control the volume, play/pause, change tracks and has a close-proximity microphone . We found that this feature works great with newer generation of iPods but not on our ancient iPod (and I mean ancient!) If you choose to purchase the version with the headset, I recommend that you make sure that it is compatible with your devices. You can download the user manual to get a list of which generations it will be compatible with here.

Reasons Why I Like this Headset and Earphones:

• The earphones are designed to maintain safe levels for little ears even at a maximum volume.
• They fit multiple people when you change out the eartips – I can borrow them if I need to! There is also a CUSTOM•Fit option.
• The headset works great, especially if you want to make changes to your music and your iPod is in your pocket.

But, There is One Con:

My husband borrowed my son’s earphones  because the 2-year old broke his. He went for his run and got a little frustrated. He kept turning up the volume and couldn’t figure out why he was having a hard time hearing. While the earphones are designed to reduce outside noise, extreme noise (like traffic) can’t be completely tuned out. Because the earphones are designed not to exceed certain limits, he had a hard time hearing when running. So, for adult athletics, these earphones might not be the best.

Update!

When Etymotic read my review, they immediately contacted me with the hopes to send me eartips that would be a better fit for my husband and solve the issue of extreme noise penetrating the earphones. They sent us two additional tips – both of which were a little bit bigger and therefore did a better job sealing the ear. This fixed the problem! I really appreciated Etymotic’s customer service and willingness to help us find a solution.

In addition, since I initially wrote this review, I’ve used the earphones more extensively as well. I find that the tips work much better for me than the earphones that came with my iPod. They are more comfortable and they stay in better.

From a Mom’s Perspective:

From a mom’s perspective, the Ety•Kids³ Headset + earphones is the perfect solution if you want to make sure that your children’s ears are being protected. I feel very comfortable allowing my children to listen to music using these earphones. You can purchase them on amazon.com for $79 with free super saver shipping. If this is a little pricey for you, I recommend checking out the Ety•Kids5 earphones. This version does not include the headset but boasts all the same technology in the earphones. You can purchase these at amazon.com for $49. again with super saver shipping.

* I was given Ety•Kids³ Headset + Earphones for my honest opinion. All opinions are my own.