By Laura Hubbard

At last week’s CES Unveiled@New York Press Preview, I had the opportunity to meet the mom behind iHearSafe. This company is one of CEA’s Innovations 2009 Design and Engineering Awards honorees in the headphones category for their safe volume headphones.

Since 2003, the Innovations Design and Engineering Awards have honored the latest and greatest products, giving manufactures and developers the opportunity to have their product highlighted at CES where the future of consumer technology is showcased.

Christine Ingemi, the founder of the company, realized she was always telling her children to “turn it down” when they were listening to their headphones. Instead of getting the words tattooed on her forehead, she jumped into action and worked with industry experts to develop safe earbuds and headphones. iHearSafe headphones automatically limits the sound output to 85 decibels (a safe listening level) regardless of how high the device volume is increased.

I was ecstatic to see this product recognized in the headphone category since it addresses a major concern of all parents – how to protect their childrens’ hearing.  

Noise-Induced Hearing Loss can occur by listening to headphones at high volumes for extended periods of time . This loss happens gradually and painlessly over time and can go undetected until it’s too late . The iHearSafe’s headphones are the perfect complement to CEA’s campaign focused on educating parents and children on safe listening practices.  

 Even if you don’t have a pair of earSafe headphones, here are some simple steps we all follow to protect our hearing:

1. Start by setting your volume control at a low setting.

2. Slowly increase the sound until you can hear it comfortably and clearly, without distortion.

3. Once you’ve reached your comfortable sound level, set the dial and leave it.