A Quick Guide to Protecting Your Hearing

The best way to look after your hearing is to protect it. Many people don't realize they have hearing loss until it's already impacting their day-to-day life. Luckily, it's never too late to protect your hearing, but it is crucial to understand the wide variety of options available to you. If you want to look after your hearing health, here are some of the best approaches.

Exercise

Exercise is important to your overall wellbeing, but did you know it's also very good for your ears? Any cardiovascular exercise, such as running or cycling, makes the heart work harder to pump the blood around the body, which will make its way to our ears. This will help to flood our ears with oxygen and blood cells, giving them an extra helping hand to work to their maximum potential. 

Use earplugs 

A very common way to protect your hearing, especially if you expose yourself to loud noises. Many people go to concerts and clubs, and if you've ever experienced that muffled sound after leaving a noisy venue, this is your ears trying to protect themselves. Most people will experience this temporary hearing loss for a day, but some may find that it stays around for a lot longer. If you work in an environment with a lot of noise, earplugs are an easy way to protect your ears. You could have a custom pair fitted, or you could purchase disposable ones. 

Allow your ears recovery time 

Something that people do not necessarily consider, but when you have to rest your body or your mind after too much exertion, the same applies to your ears. When you are exposed to excessive noise for a prolonged period of time, you need to allow your ears time to recover. The best approach is to take a break from any excessive noise if possible. Even exposure to loud noises of 100 decibels for a maximum of 15 minutes without any protection is too much for your ears. By allowing your ears time to recover, by preferably staying away from loud noises for 16 hours, you can recover effectively. 

Turn down the volume on every device 

From your television to your phone, you can run the risk of noise-induced hearing loss if you do not use audio devices safely. If you're someone that likes to listen to music through earbuds or headphones, one of the best methods is to protect yourself is by using the "60/60 rule," which is where you listen with headphones at a maximum of 60% volume for no more than 60 minutes per day. It's also worth considering the type of hearing device you use. If you use earbuds on a regular basis, they are directly next to your eardrum, which can deeply impact your ability to hear after a while because of prolonged exposure. If you cannot bear to part with your headphones, choose over-the-ear headphones. 

Avoid cotton swabs 

To you, earwax may look unsightly, but it is how our ears protect themselves. Our ears are amazing things, they self-clean, and wax is a way to prevent harmful particles from entering your ear canal. If you are annoyed with wax, you can use an ear wax removal solution or clear your ear canal with a damp towel. Cotton swabs are small enough that they can get inside our eardrum. If we push too far, we could risk damaging this very sensitive organ. Swabs should only be used to clean debris from the outer portion of your ear.

Keep your ears dry 

If you've ever experienced "swimmer's ear," you know how it can impact your hearing ability. If we have excess moisture in the ear canal, bacteria can move into it. You can either use swimmers' earplugs to block water from entering via canal or gently towel dry your ears after any exposure to water. If you ever feel any water in your ear, gently tilt your head to the side and tug likely on your earlobe. 

Having regular check-ups

The best way for anybody to protect their hearing is to work with an audiologist to have regular check-ups to know the extent of their hearing health. It's vital that we take action because any untreated hearing loss will detract from our quality of life. If you are looking to book an appointment with an audiologist, you can contact Hinderliter Hearing Services on 248-430-8425.