The Best Way to Protect Your Ears and Hearing Health

When you damage your hearing and this is why it is imperative to take good care of your ears to protect them from any kinds of damage. Recently, there is an increase in the number of patients seeking cochlear implants and this is a subtle indication at just how hearing problems have increased, and this should concern you if you are in an individual who cherishes the use of their ears. Outlined below are some of the best ways for protecting your ears and hearing health so that you don’t become part of the statistics of those who have lost their hearing abilities permanently.

Use earplugs when you are in places with loud noise

It is estimated that out of all the cases of hearing problems, 20% of them are as a result of working in environments with loud noise or leisure environments with very loud music. Places such as clubs and concerts are potentially responsible for contributing to the increasing number of people with hearing problems, and also factories that generate a lot of noise is also to blame for some of these problems. The remedy to loud noise that can be a danger to the ears is to simply arm yourself with a nice pair of earplugs so that you can block all the noise from accessing your eardrums. (1)

Use low volume

The World Health Organization estimates that close to two billion teen around the glove are at a risk of losing their hearing capabilities due to unsafe use of audio devices. It is nowadays common to find young people with earphones on with very loud music. In as much as you desire to get entertained, listening to loud music doesn’t necessarily mean that you are enjoying the music. Besides, the potential damage you could end up with will be irreversible. Instead of using earplugs all the time and setting the volumes to high, consider using over-the-ear headphones which are relatively safe and are not as dangerous as the earplugs.

With the current technologies, you can go ahead and get the most out of your headphones without worrying about damaging your ears, but this is only possible when you go for noise-canceling headphones. They may be a bit priced than the normal headphones, but you will benefit from the quality of sound you will get from them and also they will help to protect your ears from noise damage. 

Allow your ears time to recover

If you were at a concert where loud music was playing, or you were at a bar where the volumes were too loud, once you get out of those places, you should allow your ears some time to heal before you get exposed to loud sounds again. If possible, you don’t have to wait for the concert to be over so that your ears can recover. Strive to take a break from the noise by spending a couple of minutes outside before coming back again. The idea is to avoid such noisy places, but ideally, your ears need at least sixteen hours of quiet recovery after you are exposed to a night of very loud music.

Don’t use cotton swabs in your ears

Cleaning wax out of the ear canal using cotton swabs is a common thing millions of people do around the world, but they don’t just know the kind of damage they have been doing to their ears. Most people see the wax in their ears as dirt which ought to be removed, but this is not entirely true. Some wax is needed to stop the dust and harmful particles from access the inner parts of the ears. Besides, the ear is a self-cleaning organ, and when you try to remove the wax, what you will be doing essentially is pushing the wax further inside and this may come with a myriad of health complications. This is something you should always avoid. (2)

Don’t smoke and keep your blood sugar in check

It may sound strange how smoking and blood sugar levels affect the health of your ears and hearing, but it actually does. Smoking will not only interfere with your breathing, heart and lungs, but also it is a habit that suffocates your entire body system including your ear canal. Every time you smoke, there will always be an imbalance in the blood sugar, which consequently may end up damaging the ear. Therefore, is you desire a long life for your ears, avoid smoking and also regularly check your blood sugar to ensure there is no imbalance.

Always keep your ears dry

There are certain types of ear infection that comes are a result of moisture present in the ears. The most common one is the swimmer’s ear condition which is typically a bacterial infection due to the presence of moisture in the ear canal. Such infections have the potential to make you lose your hearing capabilities and therefore it is important to keep your ears dry at all times. Whether you are from the bathroom or from the swimming pool, towel dry your ear, and tilt your head to both sides to force any water that might still be present out.

If you swim regularly, it is highly recommended that you use custom-fit swimmers earplugs so that no water can access the ear canal. Both adult and kids can use them to prevent getting affected by conditions such as swimmers’ ears.

Don’t lead a sedentary life

There may be no common exercises for the ears, but exercises are actually good for your ear health. Cardio exercises that increase your heart rate such as running, walking, jogging on the treadmill, or cycling will force blood to pump to all parts of your body, with the ears included. As a result, the internal parts of the ear will stay healthy, and you will manage to harness their full potential. But you should ensure your safety when doing some of these exercises. For example, cycle with a helmet on to protect your head and ears.