Newswise — MAYWOOD, Ill. – (July 2, 2014) You’ve packed the sunscreen and bug spray to protect your little ones while enjoying a Fourth of July celebration, but many parents don’t think about the potential damage that the loud fireworks can do to a young child’s ears.

“Fireworks can be harmful to a child’s ears. It is rare, but I have seen problems such as hearing loss and a tympanic membrane perforation,” said Laura Swibel Rosenthal, MD, pediatric otolaryngologist at Loyola University Health System and assistant professor in the departments of Otolarynology and Pediatrics at Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine.

Fireworks shows can produce 130-190 decibels of sound. According to the World Health Organization, children should not be exposed to anything over 140 decibels. According to Swibel Rosenthal one of best ways to protect a child’s hearing is to keep a large distance between the child and the fireworks.

“The farther away you are the less impact the fireworks will have on a child’s hearing. Sit at least 500 feet away from where the fireworks are launched. Also, consider purchasing noise reduction headphones, which can help protect a child’s hearing,” said Swibel Rosenthal.

Though most of the injuries she’s seen have resolved on their own, she warns parents to take the danger seriously and to think about their own hearing safety as well.

“The mild hearing loss is usually temporary and ear drum perforations often heal on their own. Still, surgery is sometimes required,” said Swibel Rosenthal. “Loud noises like fireworks are dangerous for adults as well as kids. Exposure to loud sounds over time can have a cumulative effect on hearing so protect your kids’ ears to keep them hearing in the future.”

For media inquires, please contact Evie Polsley at [email protected] or call (708) 216-5313 or (708) 417-5100. Follow Loyola on: Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/#!/LoyolaHealthTwitter:http://twitter.com/#!/LoyolaHealthYouTube:http://www.youtube.com/user/LoyolaHealth### Loyola University Health System, a member of Trinity Health, is a quaternary care system based in the western suburbs. It includes a 61-acre main medical center campus, the 36-acre Gottlieb Memorial Hospital campus and 22 primary and specialty care facilities in Cook, Will and DuPage counties. The medical center campus is conveniently located in Maywood, 13 miles west of the Chicago Loop and 8 miles east of Oak Brook, Ill. The heart of the medical center campus, Loyola University Hospital, is a 569-licensed-bed facility. It houses a Level 1 Trauma Center, a Burn Center and the Ronald McDonald® Children’s Hospital of Loyola University Medical Center. Also on campus are the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center, Loyola Outpatient Center, Center for Heart & Vascular Medicine and Loyola Oral Health Center as well as the LUC Stritch School of Medicine, the LUC Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the Loyola Center for Fitness. Loyola's Gottlieb campus in Melrose Park includes the 264-licensed-bed community hospital, the Professional Office Building housing 150 private practice clinics, the Adult Day Care, the Gottlieb Center for Fitness and Marjorie G. Weinberg Cancer Care Center.