7 Ways to Protect Your Ears and Hearing Health

When it comes to your family’s health and wellness, hearing is further down the list of priorities; that’s usually because hearing issues don’t tend to develop until later in life. In reality, it’s the choices and lifestyle practices you have today that determine the quality of hearing later on. Find out how to protect your hearing and way of life with the seven helpful tips in the article below.

Avoid Loud Noises

Loud noise is one of the main causes of hearing loss. Whether it is prolonged or sudden, loud noises can damage or destroy the delicate cilia hairs in the inner ear and reduce the ability to hear environmental sounds and enjoy music. No matter what your age, try to avoid loud noises.

Harmful noise can come from the environment, but it can also come from your media devices; if you listen to media at a high volume or ignore the volume warning signs, you endanger your hearing in the long term. Try to reduce the volume and frequency of any loud noise exposure.

Use Earplugs

If you are worried about your hearing but still want to play in a band, attend a live music event or work in a loud environment, you can wear earplugs. On average, earplugs can reduce the decibel level so you can listen at safer volume levels.

Earplugs are convenient and unintrusive; you can carry them in your pocket conveniently and put them in discreetly at work or at a social event. If you attend an event where you cannot regulate the noise, always use earplugs to protect your hearing but still enjoy the environment.

Avoid Sustained Noise

Planned events and media devices are one thing, but sustained noise is quite another. Unlike short-term loud events, sustained noise can harm your hearing over time; this type of hearing damage is more subtle and harder to notice thanks because it seems like background noise.

If you live beside a busy road or you work with loud machinery in a factory, your hearing could be at risk from sustained noise exposure. A sustained noise doesn’t have to be uncomfortable; it can be a loud conversation or a kitchen appliance; always wear your earplugs.

Clean the Ears

Most people think earwax is unpleasant and want to remove it as soon as possible; many people also clean their ears regularly to prevent the appearance of earwax. The trouble is the cotton swabs they use can be harmful to the inner ear causing damage to the hairs and drum.

The fact is earwax is a natural form of ear cleaning. The wax is used to remove harmful bacteria from the inner ear and protect it from infection. If you still want to clean your ears, you can use a saline solution, some olive oil or a damp towel in the bath or shower to clear out excess wax.

Hearing Aids

Hearing aids are an excellent way to protect and enhance your hearing, even when you only have mild-to-moderate hearing loss. Hearing aids contain technology that can sharper the high and low frequencies of music and adjust the volume to enhance the listening experience overall.

Hearing aids can also improve the quality of hearing, especially for individuals with tinnitus. A hearing aid can reduce the background sound of tinnitus and enhance the foreground. There are many different styles of hearing aids, like behind-the-ear (BTE), in the ear (ITE) and in the canal (ITC). Talk to your audiologist about these hearing aids and see which would be the best option for you.

Reduce Stress

Stress can be harmful to many of the body’s systems, and the hearing system is one of them. Stress is a chemical reaction in the brain; it’s a response to an external stimulus that appears to be a threat. Suddenly the brain is flooded with cortisol and adrenaline that affects the hearing.

If you are stressed, you might experience tinnitus – a ringing or buzzing in the ear. If you have some tinnitus, stress can make it louder or bring it on more strongly. The good news is reducing stress can be quite straightforward; all you need to do is bring your attention back to the breath.

Regular Checkups

If you want to protect the hearing health of you or a family member, make sure you have regular hearing tests with an audiologist. Using tests and questions about lifestyle, a professional audiologist can help you to maintain quality hearing for years to come. Find out about regular hearing checkups at the Hearing Wellness Centre; get in touch by calling us today at (844) 663-9433.