Tag: prevent

6 Ways to Keep Your Hearing Loss From Getting Worse

6 Ways to Keep Your Hearing Loss From Getting Worse

6 Ways to Keep Your Hearing Loss From Getting Worse

Looking Out for Your Hearing Health Is Even Easier Than You Think

If you have hearing loss, you’re not alone. With an estimated 466 million children and adults living with disabling hearing loss, per the World Health Organization, it’s one of the most common chronic physical conditions around the globe.

Though most types of hearing loss cannot be reversed, they can often be successfully managed with today’s innovative technology. And there are empowering ways you can keep your hearing loss from getting worse. Read on for six tips to do just that.

  • Avoid Noisy Environments

Among the most preventable causes of hearing loss, harmful noise levels — especially those reaching 85 decibels or higher — can do a number on your ears. The damage could be temporary or permanent. And it can worsen with greater noise exposure. When possible, avoiding harmful noise levels altogether is the best bet.

  • Wear Hearing Protection

Of course, avoiding excess noise isn’t always practical — especially if it’s part of your occupation. Whether you’re working around jet engines, calling games amid the whistles and cheers of a packed arena, or operating machinery at a farm, workplaces can be loud. That’s where hearing protection comes in. We recommend custom protection for even more effectiveness and a secure fit.

  • Address Earwax Buildup

Excess cerumen, or earwax buildup, can also be the culprit in worsening hearing loss. Typically your ears naturally push out excess wax, but sometimes the accumulation can form a blockage. To remove an earwax plug, gently soften it with drops of warmed olive oil, almond oil water, or a commercial solution — as long as you don’t have an eardrum perforation.

  • Beware of Ototoxicity

Some medications, including certain drugs used to fight cancer, can be ototoxic, or damaging to the inner ear, potentially leading to hearing loss or worsening of existing hearing difficulties. Rather than stopping the medication if prescribed, talk to your doctor or another provider about the risks, potential alternatives, and possible ways to mitigate any threats to your hearing.

  • Think Total Wellness

It’s easy to think of hearing loss as just an isolated challenge, but it can go hand in hand with other conditions, such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, dementia, and other health problems. Though cause and effect aren’t necessarily conclusive in all cases of hearing loss, staying dedicated to total wellness can potentially go a long way toward helping preserve your current hearing levels.

  • Lean Into Technology

As mentioned early in this story, today’s exciting, advanced technology plays a big role in successfully managing hearing loss. With the help of a licensed hearing care professional and solutions tailored to your needs, you can discover a whole new world of sound. Using hearing technology also helps you preserve the hearing you have.

So don’t wait. Take steps to preserve your hearing today. If it’s been a while since your last hearing check, or your current hearing devices don’t seem to help as much as they used to, contact us for an evaluation. We’re committed to helping you hear your best!

Did you know? Exercise can also help prevent hearing impairment

Making Moves for Hearing Health

Search Top 10 New Years resolutionsî and what are you sure to find? Lists that often start with ìfitnessî or exercise. With benefits from better skin and stronger bones to weight loss, improved mental health, and more, itís no wonder that exercise pops up as a perennial New Yearís resolution favorite!

But did you know? Exercise can also help prevent hearing impairment.

So if you or your loved ones are kicking off the new year with physical fitness goals in sight, keep in mind these four tips for better hearing health:

1. Exercise May Delay Age-Related Hearing Loss

An estimated one of every three adults between ages 65 and 74 lives with hearing impairment, per the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders, making it a common health challenge among seniors. Research, however, shows that exercise can stave off age-related hearing loss (AHL). One relatively recent study using mice, for example, found that ìregular exercise slowed AHLî and deterioration of the cochlea, the part of the inner ear that detects sound.

2. What Helps Your Heart Helps Your Ears

People with heart disease, a leading cause of death worldwide, are 54 percent more likely to experience hearing loss. Research shows, however, that individuals entering their 50s with good cardiovascular health have better hearing than their counterparts with poor cardiovascular fitness. Just ì30 minutes a day, five times a weekî of moderate or vigorous exercise can help cut the risk of heart disease, per the American Heart Association, and it doesnít have to be hard: ìThe simplest positive change you can make to effectively improve your heart health is to start walking.

3. Brainpower Is Hearing Power

Ears are vital to hearing, but the brain does the heavy lifting ó recognizing sound, using ears to help orient the body, and separating desired sounds from competing noise. Studies show that exercise supports brain health. Wrote Harvard Health Blogís executive editor: ìThe benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors ó chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells.

4. Less Noise Makes a Big Difference

Whether kickboxing to the latest beats at the gym or hitting the walking trail with your MP3 player, getting the most out of a hearing-healthy workout includes protecting your ears from excess noise ó the most preventable cause of hearing loss. Wear quality earplugs and keep a good distance from speakers in group exercise classes, where music volumes can reach well above the danger threshold of 85 decibels. If using an MP3 player or other personal music device, remember to turn it at least halfway down or lower from full volume.

What are your goals for better hearing and wellness this year? At [practice-name], weíre here to help you achieve them! Contact us to schedule a hearing exam or a clean and check of your hearing aids today