We are pleased to offer the opportunity for Girl Scouts to learn more about hearing and hearing protection through self-completion of the Rady Children’s Hearing Protection Patch.
Who: Brownies-Ambassadors

What: Rady Children’s Hearing Protection Patch
When: Self-Guided Patch Program Link to Activities
Where: 3020 Children’s Way, MC5010, San Diego, CA 92123
Cost: Patches are free with completion of age-appropriate activities: Rady Children’s Hearing Protection Patch.
Contact: For more information or to receive a patch, contact Julie Purdy at jpurdy@rchsd.org or 858-966-5408.
The Facts
Did you know that Juliette Gordon Low, the founder of Girl Scouts, had atypical hearing? She was deaf in one ear. It is estimated 12.5% of children and adolescents aged 6–19 years have exposed themselves to excessive noise sufficient to cause a change in their hearing. Changes in our hearing due to noise can occur from a very loud one-time exposure to a loud sound but more commonly happens from listening to loud sounds over and over. Once we expose ourselves to noise for long enough, the subsequent changes in our hearing cannot be reversed or repaired but it can be prevented. The three main ways to avoid creating these changes in your hearing levels are: turning sounds down, walking away, and protecting your ears. The steps of this patch are designed to help you make choices that will protect your hearing for your entire life!
Activities
To complete this patch, all of the * items must be completed for each section (Discover, Connect, Take Action, and Reflect).
Discover Activities
Pick at least two of the three activities listed below. Be sure to complete the starred item.
- How do we hear? Look at the diagram below. It shows the three main parts that help us hear. Label the diagram using the words and definitions listed below. An answer key is provided on page seven.
https://www.audiology.org/consumers-and-patients/children-and-hearing-loss/turn-it-to-the-left/
- Pinna: The part of your ear visible on the sides of your head. Made of cartilage and helps determine the direction of sound.
- Ear Canal: Allows sound to travel from the pinna to the middle ear.
- Eardrum: A thin flap of skin at the end of the ear canal that vibrates when sound hits it, marking the start of the middle ear.
- Hammer: The first of the three ossicles transmitting sound vibrations to the inner ear.
- Anvil: The second ossicle aiding in transmitting sound vibrations to the inner ear.
- Stirrup: The third ossicle transmitting sound vibrations to the cochlea.
- Cochlea: The part of the inner ear that processes sound into electrical signals sent to the brain.
- Semicircular Canals: The part of the inner ear responsible for balance.
- Hair cells convert movement into electrical signals sent to the brain.
- Hearing Facts: Pick at least one item from Part A and another from Part B. Investigate more about the topic.
- How do other animals/insects hear?
- Fish do not have ears but detect pressure changes through ridges on their body.
- Dogs can hear much higher pitches than humans.
- Snakes hear through their jawbone and inner ear to locate prey.
- Male mosquitoes hear with thousands of tiny hairs on their antennae.
- Why is protecting your hearing important?
- Sitting in front of speakers at a rock concert can expose you to 120 decibels, damaging hearing in 7 1/2 minutes.
- Thirty-seven percent of children with minimal hearing loss fail at least one grade.
- The ear hears sounds even while sleeping, so damage can occur even then.
- Everyday sounds such as hair dryers, traffic, or lawn mowers can damage hearing.
- How do other animals/insects hear?
- *How loud is too loud? Match the noises at the top with the categories below. An answer key is provided on page seven.
https://www.audiology.org/consumers-and-patients/children-and-hearing-loss/turn-it-to-the-left/
Connect Activities
Be sure to complete both of the starred items listed below.
- *With your troop/group/family, read one book from the list at the end of the page. Share what you learned with a parent, teacher, or trusted friend.
- Turn off the music. Look at the two pictures below.

Take Action Activities
Pick one activity from each of the three ways to protect your hearing: turning sound down, walking away, and protecting your ears.
- Turn Sounds Down:
- Use headphones or earbuds and adjust volume until you can hear someone speaking at arm’s length.
- Measure sound levels in a noisy environment with an app and recommend solutions to a teacher or administrator.
- Play the game “Save Your Ears” and share a surprising strategy you learned with someone else.
- Walking Away:
- Move away from noisy devices like a blender or hairdryer and measure the sound levels as you move farther.
- Use a sound meter to identify noisy household items and determine how far you need to move to reduce the sound to safe levels.
- Protecting Your Hearing:
- Learn to use earplugs correctly and observe how they reduce sound levels.
- Research different types of hearing protection and their effectiveness for daily activities.
- Play the game “Save Your Ears” again and reflect on a new strategy you learned.
Reflection Activities
- Make a list of all the sounds in your daily life that are noisy. What strategies can you use to reduce your noise level? Make a reminder by creating a sign or reminder note. Set a goal for yourself to use this strategy every time you come in contact with that noise for at least one month.
- What sounds matter to you the most? Write a story, choreograph a dance or create a drawing that reflects what sounds you would miss the most if you were to lose your hearing. You can express your learning through any kind of artistic medium.
- Educate someone else by sharing what you have learned with one of your friends, Girl Scout troop or school classroom. Reflect together about why sounds matter to you and what you can do to protect your hearing. Check in with each other weekly to see how this is going.
- Based on what you have learned, try something new—your pick. Why did you pick this activity? How does it help you better understand hearing protection?
Book List
Ages 4-8 (Daisy/Brownies):
- Bessie Needs Hearing Aids by Jenna Harmke
- Button in her Ear by Ada Bassett Litchfield
- I Have a Sister, My Sister is Deaf by Jeanne Whitehouse Peterson
- Birthday for Ben by Kate Gaynor
- Dad and Me in the Morning by Patricia Lakin
- Cosmo Gets an Ear by Gary Clemente
Ages 8-13 (Juniors/Cadettes):
- Cheshire Moon by Nancy Butts
- Jessi’s Secret Language by Ann Matthews Martin
- Rally Caps by Stephen J. and Jodi Michelle Cutler
Ages 13+ (Seniors/Ambassadors):
- A Season of Change by Lois L. R. Hodge
- Rally Caps by Stephen J. Cutler
- Connor Westphal Book Series by Penny Warner
- Five Flavors of Dumb by Anthony John
Answer Keys
This patch was developed by the Developmental Services department of Rady Children’s Hospital-San Diego.