Normally, when you’re confronted with hearing loss (no matter the variety), the first thing you should do is try to minimize the damage. There are, in fact, some straightforward steps you can take to safeguard your ears and limit further hearing loss.
Step 1: Keep Your Ears Clean
Remember learning to make sure you clean behind your ears when you learned general hygiene (or at least should have learned). But it’s actually the inner ear we’re concerned with cleaning when it comes to hearing health, rather than behind the ears.
Keeping your ears free from wax accumulation can help your hearing in a number of different ways:
- In the long run, untreated hearing loss can impact your brain and your ability to interpret sounds.
- If you have a hearing aid, earwax buildup can hinder its function as well. You might end up thinking that your hearing is going downhill because of this.
- When wax accumulation becomes substantial, it can prevent sound from reaching your inner ear. As a result, your ability to hear becomes weakened.
- Your ability to hear can also be impeded if you get a severe ear infection which can also be a result of unclean ears. When your ear infection goes away, your normal hearing will usually come back.
You never turn to using a cotton swab to attempt to dig out built up earwax. In most cases, a cotton swab will make things worse or cause additional damage. Over the counter ear drops are a better decision.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one should almost be left off the list it’s so obvious. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most individuals. Over an extended time period, for instance, your ears can be damaged by driving on a busy highway. Also, believe it or not, your lawn mower can take a toll on your hearing. As you can see, it isn’t just blasting speakers or loud rock concerts that harm your ears.
Here are some ways to avoid damaging noise:
- When decibel levels get too loud, an app on your phone can alert you of that.
- Wearing hearing protection when noisy environments are unavoidable. Does your job put you on the floor of a loud manufacturing plant? Going to a rock concert? That’s cool. Just use the correct hearing protection. A perfect illustration would be earmuffs and earplugs.
- Refraining from cranking the volume up on your headphones when you’re listening to music or watching videos. Most phones feature built-in alerts when you’re nearing a dangerous threshold.
The damage to your hearing from loud sounds will develop gradually. So if you’ve been to a loud event, you might have done damage even if you don’t realize it. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing professional.
Step #3: If You Have Any Hearing Loss – Get it Addressed
In general, hearing loss is cumulative. So recognizing any damage early on will go a long way to preventing added injury. That’s why getting treated is incredibly important in terms of stopping hearing loss. Effective treatments (that you follow through with) will keep your hearing in the best possible shape.
Here’s how treatments work:
- We can give individualized instructions and advice to help you prevent further damage to your ears.
- Hearing aids can prevent some, but not all, damage. Hearing aids will, for instance, let you listen to the TV or music at a lower volume, avoiding damage. Hearing aids will counter additional degeneration of your hearing by preventing this damage.
- The chance of developing hearing loss related health problems is diminished by using hearing aids because they prevent social solitude and brain strain.
You Will be Benefited in The Long Run by Limiting Hearing Loss
Even though it’s true that hearing loss can’t be cured, getting treatment for your hearing loss will help stop additional damage. In many situations, hearing aids are one of the primary ways to achieve that. The right treatment will help you preserve your present level of hearing and stop it from worsening.
When you wear hearing protection, exercise good hygiene, and obtain hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the correct measures to limit hearing loss while also giving yourself the best chance for healthy hearing in the future.