Overview
What We Love...
The earbuds are easy to fit to your child's ear and were easy to use straight out of the box. Protection for your child's hearing even when they think they have the volume turned up all the way. Controls on the ETY Kids 3 were the same as Apple. Sound clarity on both sets of earbuds was fantastic. Noise isolation technology on ETY Kids 3 which allowed children to hear outside noise was a differentiator.
What We'd Love To See...
Holding pouch in brighter more 'kid friendly colors'.

Overall
If you are looking for a set of earphones that will protect your child’s hearing, this is a set worth looking into. We loved the peace of mind that they offered to our children while ensuring that sounds were clear and easy to understand without damaging their hearing at a young age. These headphones are great for anyone concerned about their hearing, not just kids!

Review by Alison & Mary

ETYKids ear buds by Etymotic Research, Inc. are headphones that are specially designed to keep the sound level down for your child even when they “think” they have them turned up to the maximum. They keep the volume at safe levels for your children and help to prevent hearing damage. These headphones are designed for children ages four and older or anyone who is sensitive to loud sound. They have ACCU•Fit eartips which ensures they fit well into your child’s ear.  The iMums tested both the ETY Kids 3 (which featured in-line Apple friendly controls) as well as the ETY Kids 5 which was similar but without the inline controls and both sets are reflected in the review.  Be sure to check out the safe listening guide on the ETY site to learn more about safe levels of noise for your child.

We really liked the clarity of the sounds with these headphones, which allowed us to hear each of the individual sounds. Even when listening to classical music we could decipher the individual instruments.  While testing  the ETY Kids 3 (Apple compatible model) AWARENESS!® for Etymotic the noise isolation was a huge plus for me.  Although we could hear the music clearly, if there were other sounds that we needed to hear like traffic, announcements on the train or even other outside noise, you could still hear it.  This is a great safety feature and one that differentiates the ETY K3 from the competition.  This feature itself could make them a great set of headphones for parents going out running, or doing activities which require awareness of their surroundings while listening to music.  We also liked that the headphones arrived with three different ear buds, allowing you to find the ones that were the comfortable fit instead of being standard issue.  We also liked to know that our children couldn’t play the music too loudly, although we recommended that they use them at lower volumes.  We tested the headphones with both adults and children and found them comfortable and easy to use.  You could also clearly hear the bass in music as well and it was not overpowering in terms of sound.  Of note, there is an Awareness app in the app store which is free, and by providing an in package registration code you are upgraded to the pro version.  This is where you access the settings for awareness based on ambient noise in your area recorded from the mic on the headset.  This feature is available on the ETY Kids 3 version only.

A great enhancement would be to offer the same type of clarity in the headphones but to offer an “over the ear version.”  I know my son complained the first several times he used them that the tips hurt his ears, and I think this was because it was among his first exposure to it.  I really liked the pouch we used to store the headphones, but since it was black it could be hard to find in a bag – it would be great if the colors were bright to match the kid-friendly demographic that is being targeted.

If you are looking for a set of earphones that will protect your child’s hearing, this is a set worth looking into. We loved the peace of mind that they offered to our children while ensuring that sounds were clear and easy to understand without damaging their hearing at a young age.  The noise isolation feature on the ETY 3 was another big plus as it helped children be more aware of their settings.

Giveaway

If you would like to win a set of ETY-3 Kids Headphones, please enter via the widget below. Winners will be emailed and must contact The iMums within 48 hours to claim their prize. This giveaway is open to individuals located in the US only. Please ensure you have read and understand our Terms & Conditions. Good luck!

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Alison

Alison, the American iMum is from Illinois. She lives there with her son and husband. In their spare time, they enjoy playing outside, enjoying nature and of course testing apps and fantastic products on their devices. They have a variety of devices including an iPad, iPhone, and an iPod and her newest device which is an iPad Mini!

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You can email me direct at alison(at)theimums.com