Seems like we’re always attempting to stay young. From wrinkle creams to Botox to special diets to spin class, we spend a great number of hours every day doing everything we can to slow the steady march of aging. And yet, even with all that effort (and all those hours), we have a tendency to avoid doing one simple thing that could actually work: using ear protection.
Hearing impairment is often one of those “signs of aging” that we tend to think of as inevitable. But it’s not that easy. You can keep your hearing in great shape and help avoid damage by protecting and taking care of your ears. And as time goes by, great hearing can have considerable anti-aging benefits.
Aging And Hearing
When we discuss “aging” we don’t usually mean the actual passing of time. Instead, certain mental. emotional, or physical changes are indications that somebody is getting older. A perfect example of this is joint pain. You may associate sore knees, for example, with “getting old”. But lifestyle has as much to do with this as age does.
The same will also apply to many types of hearing loss. As you age, damage accumulates. And in most cases, it’s the build-up of damage that leads to the actual hearing degeneration. And that’s when the problems can start to snowball. A number of other indications of aging have been connected to hearing loss:
- Studies have shown a robust connection between untreated hearing loss, anxiety, and depression.
- In some cases, issues such as insomnia and memory loss, can be triggered by the mental strain of attempting to hear. And, in an especially intense way, that can cause you to feel like you are aging.
- The onset of mental problems, including dementia, can sometimes be accelerated by neglected or undetected hearing loss.
- Self isolation from family and friends can be the consequence of neglected hearing loss.
What to do About Age Related Hearing Loss
When you combat the “signs of aging” in your ears, you’re actually placing an emphasis on preventing damage. And it’s fortunate that we can accomplish that in a number of ways. For instance, you can:
- As much as possible, avoid loud noises. If you have to expose yourself to loud noise, use hearing protection. So when you go to that concert with your favorite musician, be sure to wear earplugs.
- Increase your awareness. You can still have damage to your hearing even if sounds aren’t painfully loud. Your ears can also be damaged by moderate noise if you are exposed to it for long periods of time.
- If you happen to work in a rather noisy setting, wear hearing protection. With modern quality ear muffs, loud noises are filtered out while voices are still able to be heard with clarity.
Your ears can be safeguarded by all of these actions. But in order to keep your hearing in good shape you can do one more thing: come see us for a hearing examination. Making sure you get hearing screenings with regular frequency can help you discover hearing loss before it’s even perceptible. Even if your hearing is perfectly normal, a screening will still be capable of providing a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Keep Your Ears Healthy With Hearing Aids
We live in a loud world. In spite of your best effort to take care of your hearing, you still might ultimately detect some hearing loss. If that’s the case, it’s essential that you seek help as soon as you can. A good set of hearing aids can help prevent some of the so-called age-related problems related to hearing impairments.
You can perhaps consider hearing aids as a facelift for your ears: something to allow your ears to perform a little more youthfully. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other issues from increasing. The analogy isn’t perfect, as hearing aids are needed and a facelift isn’t, but you get the idea. You might look younger if you use wrinkle cream. But your best choice, if want to feel younger, is to take care of your hearing loss and safeguard your hearing.