The first thing to do, when you begin to recognize that you have hearing loss, is to eliminate added damage. There are, after all, some straightforward measures you can take to protect your ears and limit further hearing loss.
Step 1: Keep Your Ears Clean
Did you clean behind your ears? It’s one of those first hygiene lessons you learn (or should have learned), right? When it comes to hearing health, though, we aren’t worried about the areas behind your ears, but rather your inner ears.
Keeping your ears free from wax buildup can help your hearing in many distinctive ways:
- Your brain and ability to interpret sound will inevitably be affected by untreated hearing loss.
- When wax buildup becomes significant, it can stop sound from reaching your inner ear. This reduces your ability to hear.
- Unkempt ears raise your chances of getting an ear infection, which leads to inflammation that (when serious enough) impedes your hearing. When your ear infection goes away, your normal hearing will usually return.
- If you use a hearing aid, earwax buildup can hinder its function also. This may make it seem like your hearing is getting worse.
If you notice earwax accumulation, it’s absolutely not advisable that you dig around in there with a cotton swab. Additional damage can be done by cotton swabs and they will often worsen your ability to hear. Instead, use over-the-counter ear drops.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one is so intuitive it almost shouldn’t be on the list. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most people. As an example, freeway driving can be loud enough to damage your ears over a long time period. The motor on your lawnmower can be rather taxing on your ears, as well. Obviously, it’s more than rock concerts or high volume speakers that cause hearing damage.
Some useful ways to avoid damaging noises include:
- Staying away from turning the volume up on your headphones when you’re watching videos or listening to music. Most phones have built-in alerts when you’re approaching a dangerous threshold.
- Making use of an app on your phone to warn you when decibel levels reach unsafe thresholds.
- When you can’t avoid noisy environments, wear hearing protection. Do you work on a noisy factory floor? Do you really want to attend that rock concert? That’s fun. Just use the correct hearing protection. A perfect illustration would be earmuffs and earplugs.
Damage to the ears from noise doesn’t happen abruptly, it progresses slowly. So, even if your hearing “feels” good after a noisy 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: Address Any Hearing Loss You May Have
Generally speaking, hearing impairment is cumulative. So, the sooner you recognize the damage, the better you’ll be capable of preventing additional damage. So in terms of slowing down hearing loss, treatment is so significant. Effective treatments (that you follow through with) will leave your hearing in the best possible condition.
Here’s how treatments work:
- Hearing aids can prevent some, but not all, damage. For example, hearing aids will prevent you from turning your television volume up so loud it harms your ears. Because hearing aids counter this damage, they can also stop further degeneration of your hearing.
- Our guidance will help you learn to protect your hearing because it is customized and personalized for you.
- Hearing aids minimize the brain strain and social solitude that worsen hearing loss-related health issues.
Decreasing Hearing Impairment 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 additional damage. In many situations, hearing aids are one of the main ways to accomplish that. Getting the necessary treatment will not only prevent additional damage but also keep your present hearing level intact.
When you wear hearing protection, practice good hygiene, and pursue hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the proper steps to minimize hearing loss while also giving yourself the best opportunity for healthy hearing in the years to come.