5 Best Kids' Headphones for Safe Listening

For babies and toddlers who need noise protection: In my roundup of the best baby headphones for noise protection, my top pick is the Banz Bubzee Baby Ear Defenders for toddlers up to age 3. Nutrition & Fitness Lab Director Stefani Sassos uses them on her daughter for loud family events, like weddings. "At one, I had 'loud noise environment' notifications going off on my Apple Watch and when we left, my own ears were ringing—all of which reaffirmed that these were necessary for my daughter," Sassos says.

At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we started with trusted brands and well-reviewed headphones that have volume limits for kids’ safety. We tested headphones at home in real-life conditions, in some cases over the course of years. In addition to home testing, we reviewed specs and hundreds of retailer reviews to confirm long-term durability.

✔️ Wireless or wired? Sachs prefers wired headphones for kids, and schools often require that kids use wired headphones in a classroom versus Bluetooth. Wired headphones are also easy to use on an airplane or in the backseat of the car, because you don’t need to worry about a wonky signal. But at home it can be nice to use Bluetooth so your child feels free to stand up and move around, so you might want to consider a pair that works both ways.

✔️ Wireless headphones have to be charged. Most charge with a USB cord. Usually your child should not be wearing the headphones and using them while they are charging. Read the instructions carefully.

✔️ Fit and comfort are important, but also hard to determine when shopping. In reviews for nearly every pair of headphones, you'll find some parents saying that they fit their child well and others saying that they’re too tight or slide off. Head shapes vary, but we did try these on children when possible and can verify that the fit is adjustable on all of our chosen pairs. The intended age range for the headphones can help you guesstimate.

✔️ Keep packaging and your receipt. Many headphones are easy to return if they're not working for your child or if they break soon after you buy them.

In a 2024 poll, 79% of parents of kids ages 9 to 12 said their child regularly uses headphones or earbuds. Parents report kids wearing them at home, in school, in the car, and during airplane travel. It may be hard to gauge the magnitude of this societal change, but 15 years ago kids did not wear headphones so often and in so many settings.

As Scientific American reported, the worry is that the trend could add up to hearing loss and tinnitus in the next generation. Prolonged exposure to sounds, even just at 70 decibels, can cause hearing damage in kids. One basic piece of advice repeated by many experts is to ask kids to take breaks from their headphones.

The other advice is to monitor the volume of headphones. As explained by a pediatrician in this article from the University of Michigan Medical School, your kid should be able to hear you when you're an arm’s length away and they are using earbuds or headphones. If they can’t hear you, the volume is too loud.

"When using a personal listening device, a child should be able to hear when spoken to and should take breaks from the device," wrote Brian K. Reilly, M.D., F.A.A.P., F.A.C.S., who co-authored the AAP policy statement, "Preventing Excessive Noise Exposure in Infants, Children, and Adolescents."

Contributing Writer Jessica Hartshorn joined the ranks of reviewers at the Good Housekeeping Institute in 2022 and reports on products for babies, kids, and pets. She also serves as a judge for the annual Good Housekeeping Parenting Awards and Good Housekeeping Toy Awards.