WHAT?

If your kid thinks it's cool to listen to his iPod at full blast, or to have her ears ringing after a Justin Bieber concert, it's time to speak up about the dangers. nearly half of the 2,500 respondents in a 2010 mtv.com survey said they listened to MP3 players at 75 to 100 percent of their maximum volume. Nearly half also said they experienced symptoms of hearing loss (ringing in the ears, trouble hearing, ear pain from loud noise) but only 32 percent said the considered it a problem.

"Hearing loss is so prevalent that it has become the norm," says study author Roland Eavey, M.D., director of the Vanderbilt Bill Wilkerson Center. "Parents need to tell kids to protect their ears, just as they tell them to wear helmets and sunscreen." A good gauge and house rule: if you can hear the music your child is listening to on his MP3 player, it's too loud. Also consider nipping the problem in the earbud with healthy headphone options. like volume-reducing earphones (we have some available in our office for $19.99 plus tax).  They make great stocking stuffers!