The first thing to do, when you begin to recognize that you have hearing loss, is to avoid added damage. There are, after all, some simple measures you can take to protect your ears and minimize further hearing loss.
Step 1: Clean Your Ears
Did you clean behind your ears? It’s one of those early hygiene lessons you learn (or should have learned), right? When it comes to hearing health, though, we aren’t concerned with the space behind your ears, but rather your inner ears.
There are several ways that keeping your ears free of wax can help your hearing:
- Earwax accumulation also inhibits the functionality of your hearing aid if you have one. This might make it seem like your hearing is getting worse.
- Sound can be blocked from reaching the inner ear when there’s too much wax accumulation. As a result, your hearing becomes diminished.
- Over time, neglected hearing loss can impact your brain and your ability to interpret sounds.
- Your ability to hear can also be interfered with if you get a severe ear infection which can also be caused by dirty ears. When your ear infection goes away, your normal hearing will usually come back.
You never turn to the use of a cotton swab to attempt to dig out excess earwax. Further damage can be caused by cotton swabs and they will frequently make it even harder to hear. Over the counter ear drops are a smarter choice.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one should almost be left off the list it’s so intuitive. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real problem for most individuals. For example, freeway driving can be loud enough to damage your ears over a long time period. The motor on your lawnmower can be pretty taxing on your ears, too. As you can tell, it isn’t just blasting speakers or loud rock concerts that damage your ears.
Some useful ways to avoid harmful noises include:
- When volume levels get too loud, an app on your phone can notify you of that.
- When you’re watching videos or listening to music keep your headphone volume at a manageable volume. When dangerous volumes are being approached, most phones come with a built in warning.
- Wearing ear protection when noisy environments can’t be avoided. Do you work on a noisy factory floor? Do you really want to go to that rock concert? That’s great. But be certain to wear the correct protection for your hearing. Contemporary earmuffs and earplugs supply abundant protection.
The damage to your hearing from loud sounds will develop gradually. So, even if your hearing “seems” okay after a loud event, that doesn’t mean it is. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing specialist.
Step #3: Treat Any Hearing Impairment You May Have
Hearing loss accumulates generally speaking. So recognizing any damage early on will go a long way to preventing additional injury. That’s why treatment is incredibly important in terms of decreasing hearing loss. Effective treatments (on which you follow through) will leave your hearing in the best possible shape.
Here’s what you can expect:
- We can provide personalized guidelines and advice to help you prevent further damage to your hearing.
- Hearing aids can stop some, but not all, damage. For example, hearing aids will stop you from turning your television volume up so loud it damages your ears. Hearing aids will counter further degeneration of your hearing by stopping this damage.
- The chance of developing hearing loss related health problems is diminished by wearing hearing aids because they minimize social solitude and brain strain.
Limiting Hearing Loss Will Benefit You in The Long Run
Even though we don’t have a cure for hearing loss, further damage can be avoided with treatment. In many situations, hearing aids are one of the principal ways to achieve that. The correct treatment will help you preserve your current level of hearing and stop it from getting worse.
Your giving yourself the best possibility for healthy hearing into the future by wearing ear protection, getting the proper treatment, and practicing good hearing hygiene.