It has been said that about 20 prototype Safe Sound Indicators (SSIs) will be placed by The National Foundation for the Deaf (NFD) in early childhood centers in Auckland, as part of a pilot program to attend to noise stimulated hearing problem in children and their educators.

Last year it was revealed by a NFD survey of 65 kindergartens, playcentres and Kohanga reo that 20% of kids were influenced by a high level of noise, indicating behaviors from placing their hands above their ears to being so troubled they wept.

Buzzing/ringing in the ears sometimes and loss of hearing was reported by teachers, which they believed could be a result of high duration of working in a noisy environment.

Louise Carroll, CEO of the NFD, stated, "The roll out of this pilot program to 20 early childhood centers will give us the opportunity to gather more data through questionnaires that will be completed at regular intervals over a six month period, looking at children's behavior, noise levels and any other relevant issues”.

It has been reported that SSIs is an uncomplicated noise meter with a green/yellow/red lighting system, which instantly makes teachers and children aware of their levels of noise so they can take action.

The questionnaire data will be evaluated by audiologists and sound experts, hoping to get success to gauge the accomplishment of the sound indicators and offer early childhood centers with precise solutions to their sound problems.