What Parents Need to Know About School and Hearing Health
The new school year is already underway. Amid the flurry of shopping for
Hearing Loss Prevention: Healthy Habits to Incorporate Today
Hearing loss is a common health problem for many, whether it’s something they experience later on in life or they’re impacted by it all of a sudden. At any age, your hearing can become compromised. After all, it’s such a vulnerable part of the body. Therefore, it’s important to do whatever is necessary to look after it.
Hearing loss can be preventable, if you’re willing to look after your hearing and ears in general. There are certainly some healthy habits you can incorporate from today onwards. With that being said, this guide provides all of the information you need to help prevent hearing loss for you now and in the future.
What are the Leading Causes of Hearing Loss?
Before exploring the beneficial habits that safeguard your hearing, it’s essential to understand the primary factors contributing to hearing loss. Hearing loss can affect people of all ages, stemming from congenital conditions to single instances of hearing damage. Furthermore, the extent of hearing loss varies in severity, encompassing mild to profound cases. Here are some of the leading causes of hearing loss:
- Loud noises or loud sounds.
- Trauma to the ear or head.
- Impacted earwax
Nutritional deficiencies.
- Viral infections and other ear conditions.
- Delayed onset or progressive hearing loss.
- Side effects from certain medicines.
As you might be surprised to see, it’s not just sound that can impact your hearing loss. It can be connected to other reasons.
How to Protect Your Hearing with These Healthy Habits
Now that you know how your hearing loss can be impacted, what healthy habits are worth implementing to help your hearing health? Here are some healthy habits to embrace this year for your ears in general.
Wear Protective Gear When Working in Certain Environments
Make sure you’re wearing protective gear when working in noisy environments. Whether you’re operating loud machinery or you’re working in a music venue where loud music is played constantly, these are work environments where you should be protecting your ears. There are plenty of ear defenders and noise-canceling headphones that your audiologist can help you choose from, so make sure you’re getting them for your benefit if your workplace does not provide hearing protection for you.
Maintain a Lower Volume on Your TV or Radio
To prevent hearing loss, make sure you’re maintaining a lower volume on your TV or radio. Be aware of how loud your devices are and try to opt for the recommended volume in the manufacturer’s guide.
It’s easy to slowly turn up the volume and your hearing will adapt to it, which can cause damage.
Reduce Exposure to Loud Noises
Reducing your exposure to loud noises or sounds, in general, is a great way to make sure your hearing stays at its healthiest. With that being said, remove yourself from these environments where possible and give your ears a break. You can also reduce exposure to loud noises, by wearing earplugs or earmuffs.
Clean Your Ears Properly
To avoid ear infections and damage to the ears, make sure you’re keeping them dry. When it comes to excess earwax, avoid using cotton swabs. These are dangerous and can end up pushing the wax further into the ear canal. The result of which could be a damaged eardrum. Talk with your audiologist about the proper way and the tools to use to clean your ears.
Get Your Hearing Checked Regularly
Getting your hearing checked is a way of looking after your hearing and incorporating healthy habits. Be sure to book a routine appointment annually and don’t be hesitant to schedule one sooner, should you be concerned that something has changed with your hearing in the meantime.
The Benefits of a Hearing Health Appointment
There are so many great benefits to a hearing health appointment. The earlier you can get seen by an audiologist, the quicker a solution can be provided to you, should something be wrong with your hearing health. Hearing health appointments can be a preventative measure to keep an eye on your hearing. As well as being able to intervene sooner rather than later, it’s certainly worth scheduling a hearing test.
Speak to an Audiologist for Advice
If you have any concerns about your hearing loss, then you should certainly speak to an audiologist for advice. Here at Audiology and Hearing Aid Services, we can provide guidance on how to improve your hearing health and test for any underlying conditions that may be present. Get in touch with us today at 912-351-3038 to learn more.
