Normally, when you’re confronted with hearing loss (no matter the variety), the first thing you should do is attempt to minimize the damage. After all, you can take some basic measures to avoid additional damage and protect your ears.
Step 1: Clean Your Ears
Did you clean behind your ears? It’s one of those initial hygiene lessons you learn (or should have learned), right? But it’s actually the inner ear we’re worried about cleaning when it comes to hearing health, rather than behind the ears.
Keeping your ears free from wax buildup can help your hearing in many distinctive ways:
- Untidy ears increase your odds of getting an ear infection, which produces inflammation that (when severe enough) interferes with your ability to hear. When your ear infection clears, your normal hearing will usually come back.
- In the long run, untreated hearing loss can affect your brain and your ability to decipher sounds.
- Sound can be blocked from reaching the inner ear when there’s too much wax buildup. This reduces your ability to hear.
- Earwax buildup also interferes with the functionality of your hearing aid if you have one. This may make it seem as though your hearing is getting worse.
If you notice earwax buildup, it’s absolutely not suggested that you dig around in there with a cotton swab. Added damage can be caused by cotton swabs and they will often worsen your ability to hear. Over the counter ear drops are a smarter choice.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one is so instinctive it almost shouldn’t be listed. But identifying how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most people. For example, freeway driving can be loud enough to damage your ears over an extended time period. Also, believe it or not, your lawn mower can take a toll on your hearing. As you can see, it isn’t just blaring speakers or loud rock concerts that harm your ears.
Here are a few ways to avoid damaging noise:
- When decibel levels get too high, an app on your phone can alert you of that.
- Using ear protection when loud environments can’t be avoided. Does your job put you on the floor of a noisy manufacturing plant? Going to see a rock concert? That’s great. Just use the correct hearing protection. Modern earmuffs and earplugs offer ample protection.
- Staying away from cranking up the volume on your headphones when you’re listening to music or watching videos. When dangerous volumes are being approached, most phones have a built in warning.
The damage to your hearing from loud noises will develop slowly. So if you’ve attended a noisy event, you might have done damage even if you don’t notice it. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing specialist.
Step #3: If You Have Any Hearing Loss – Get it Addressed
Hearing impairment accumulates generally speaking. So, the earlier you recognize the damage, the better you’ll be capable of preventing additional damage. That’s why treatment is tremendously important when it comes to stopping hearing loss. Effective treatments (that you follow through with) will keep your hearing in the best possible condition.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Hearing aids can prevent some, but not all, damage. Hearing aids will, for example, let you listen to the TV or music at a lower volume, preventing damage. Because hearing aids counter this damage, they can also stop further degeneration of your hearing.
- We can give individualized instructions and advice to help you prevent further damage to your ears.
- Hearing aids minimize the brain strain and social isolation that exacerbate hearing loss-related health problems.
Decreasing Hearing Loss Will Benefit You in The Future
While it’s true that there’s no cure for hearing loss, getting treatment for your hearing loss will help prevent further damage. In many cases, hearing aids are one of the primary ways to achieve that. Getting the correct treatment will not only prevent further damage but also keep your current hearing level intact.
When you use hearing protection, exercise good hygiene, and obtain hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the correct measures to limit hearing loss while also giving yourself the best opportunity for healthy hearing in the future.