Do you struggle to keep up with conversations when sat in a noisy room or constantly hear complaints that you have your television turned up way too loud? If your answer is yes, then you could be suffering from some degree of hearing loss. It would be better to talk to Tinnitus & Hearing Center of Arizona and seek hearing experts advice to treat such conditions. Despite what many people think, hearing loss is not reserved for the elderly, and can, in fact, affect people of any age.Thankfully, it also isn’t an inevitable part of aging, meaning that there are things you can do to prevent it. Here are five prevention tips you should try.
- Avoid Too Much Noise
Over time, loud noise can damage the hair cells in your ears, making it difficult for them to pick up sound vibrations like they’re supposed to. Because of this, it’s crucial that you minimise your exposure to loud noise as much as possible. Power tools, concerts, motorcycles, and headphones are all loud enough to cause some serious damage. As a general rule, if you have to shout over something to be heard, it’s far too loud for your ears to handle.
- Remove Your Earwax Properly
Wax buildup in your ears can muffle sound, making it pretty difficult to hear, which is why it’s important that you clean out your ears and remove the earwax when necessary. However, that doesn’t mean that you should use a cotton swab for the job. More often than not, this pushes wax deeper into your ears, making the problem worse. Instead, you should use an irrigation kit to wash it out gently. If the wax gets too compacted for this, you should visit your doctor.
- Have Regular Hearing Tests
The earlier hearing loss is picked up on, the sooner something can be done to help it and prevent the issue from getting any worse. Because of this, it’s important that, if you think there’s a problem, you visit an audiologist as soon as possible. You should also make sure that you go for regular hearing tests, especially if you’re at a higher risk of noise-induced hearing loss. This would be the case for people working in noisy environments, like building sites.
- Kick Your Smoking Habit
Everyone knows that smoking can have some incredibly dangerous effects on the body, but many people don’t realise that one of the body parts it affects is your ears. The nicotine and carbon monoxide from smoking both tighten the blood vessels in your ears, meaning that they don’t get the oxygen they need. This can damage the hair cells, so they don’t work properly. Because of this, you should try to kick your smoking habit and avoid other smokers.
- Wear Some Hearing Protection
When you know you’re going to be around loud noises for a long period of time like when you visit a building site or concert, you should make sure that you take some protection with you. Earplugs and earmuffs are two great useful options and can be worn together for even greater protection. This will lower the levels of noise evenly, without making them sound muffled. If necessary, you should also take a break from the noise even fifteen minutes or so.
Hearing loss can’t always be prevented, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. Hopefully, with the tips above, you can keep your ears in tip-top condition.
