Isn’t pizza fascinating? As long as a few factors are met, you can alter toppings, cheese, and sauce, and it’s still a pizza. That’s similar to hearing loss. Symptoms and manifestations are caused by a number of different problems, loud noises, genetics, age, or ear blockages, but as long as you have difficulty detecting sounds, it’s still hearing loss.
Minimizing the damage is the first thing you should do when confronted with hearing loss of any type. You can, after all, take some basic measures to limit additional damage and safeguard your ears.
Tip 1: Keep your ears clean
When you were a kid, you probably were taught that you need to clean behind your ears. But it’s inside of your ears that we’re worried about here, regarding hearing health, not behind your ears.
Keeping your ears free of wax buildup can improve your hearing in a variety of different ways:
- When wax buildup becomes substantial, it can stop soundwaves from reaching your inner ear. Consequently, your ability to hear becomes diminished.
- If you have a hearing aid, earwax can also impact that. This could make you think that your hearing is starting to fail.
- Unclean ears increase your risk of developing an ear infection, which creates inflammation that when significant enough, interferes with your ability to hear. When your ear infection clears up, your normal hearing will usually return (but that’s something you should consult a doctor about).
A cotton swab is absolutely not the right tool to use to get any earwax that you may have noticed out and is strongly discouraged. In most cases, a cotton swab will worsen the problem or cause added harm. Over-the-counter ear drops are recommended instead.
Tip 2: Very loud sounds should be avoided
This one is so intuitive it practically shouldn’t be on the list. But what precisely constitutes a “loud sound”? A highway, for instance, can be loud enough that over a long period of time, it can damage your ears. The motor on your lawnmower can be pretty taxing on your ears, also. As you can tell, it’s not only blaring speakers or raucous rock concerts that damage your ears.
Some practical ways to avoid harmful noises include:
- When you need to be in a noisy setting, utilize hearing protection. Are you working on the floor of a noisy factory? Do you really want to go to that rock concert? That’s awesome. Just wear the required ear protection. You can get plenty of protection with modern earmuffs and earplugs.
- When you’re listening to music or viewing videos, keep your headphone volume at safe levels. When approaching dangerous levels, most headphones have a built-in warning.
- When decibel levels get to a dangerous volume, you can make use of an app on your phone to alert you.
There’s a gradual advancement to hearing loss that’s caused by loud sound. So, even if your hearing “feels” fine after a noisy event, that doesn’t mean it is. Only if you come in and see us can we give your ears a clean bill of health.
Tip 3: Treat any hearing loss you may have
In general, hearing loss is cumulative. So, the earlier you recognize the damage, the better you’ll be able to prevent further damage. When it comes to hearing loss, that’s why treatment is so important. Your hearing will be in the best position if you get treatment and implement it.
Here’s how treatments work:
- Hearing loss-related health problems that are exacerbated by social solitude and brain strain can be prevented by using hearing aids.
- When you come in and see us we will give you personalized guidance and advice to help you steer clear of additional damage to your ears.
- Hearing aids can prevent some, but not all, damage. For example, hearing aids will prevent you from turning the volume of your television up so loud it becomes harmful. This will prevent further noise-related damage.
Limit hearing loss – it will benefit you over the long haul
Although we can’t cure hearing loss, we are doing hard work to help you prevent further damage. Treatment of hearing loss is typically one of the primary approaches to that. The right treatment will help you maintain your current level of hearing and prevent it from getting worse.
You’re taking the proper steps to prevent hearing loss and put yourself in the best position to continue to have healthy hearing if you practice good hygiene, utilize ear protection, and come see us for regular hearing tests.