Your sense of hearing is crucial in your life and when it’s gone, there will be no natural way of getting it back. But for some reason, hearing loss tends to go neglected and uncontrolled in the general population. In the US alone, one in eight individuals over the age of 12 suffer from neglected and permanent hearing loss.
While there are treatments that can help you get some hearing back, like hearing aids, it’s such an easy thing to protect your ears from the start to prevent unnecessary hearing loss.
Safeguard your hearing with these five tips:
Earbuds should be avoided
Earbuds are one of the biggest perils to hearing health today since they’ve come packaged with mobile devices going back to the first MP3 players in the early 2000s. These little devices sit snugly into the ear canal and pump sound straight into the inner ear and most smartphones come with them. Listening to a movie or music on your mobile device at maximum volume for only 15 minutes can lead to irreversible hearing loss. Earmuff style headphones, especially the ones with noise canceling technology, would be a better choice. No matter what devices you use, you should stick to the 60/60 rule – keep the volume at 60% maximum and only use the devices for 60 minutes per day.
Keep your volume down
Your hearing can be harmed by other things besides earbuds. If you regularly listen to the TV or radio at high volumes over prolonged periods, your hearing can also be harmed. You’ll also want to avoid situations where loud sounds are constant, like construction zones, concerts, and firearm ranges. Steering clear of these situations might only be possible in a perfect world, particularly if you’re a construction worker or a musician. The next item on the list will be significant if you’re in this situation.
Hearing protection will help
Hearing protection is essential if you work in a setting or enjoy hobbies that expose you to loud sounds. Hearing loss can happen in just 15 minutes at 85 decibels. To put that in perspective:
- The noise of a construction site can be above 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours every week there
- At the majority of concerts the headlining band plays for up to two hours at well above 120 decibels
- Over a one hour trip to the indoor gun range, your ears are repeatedly exposed to gunfire that clocks in at over 150 decibels on average
The moral here is that you should get yourself some type of hearing protection like earmuffs or earplugs if you engage in any of these activities.
Take auditory breaks
Sometimes giving your ears a rest is the smartest thing you can do. If you engaged in any of the activities listed above, you should make sure to take some quiet time for yourself so your ears can rest and recover, even if you were wearing ear protection. That means, you probably shouldn’t get into your car and start blaring loud music right after you leave a 3-hour concert.
Check your medicine
Your medicine could actually have a significant impact on your hearing. There are some medicines that have been proven to trigger hearing loss including certain heart and cancer medications, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicine. The good news is that medication-related hearing loss is not common and is more likely if you use two or more of those medications together making it easier to prevent.
Are you suffering from hearing loss and want to find new treatment? Schedule an appointment with us for a hearing exam.
