You’ve most likely already noticed that your hearing is waning. Usually, we don’t even recognize that our decisions are negatively impacting our hearing.
With a few simple lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be prevented. Let’s explore six unexpected secrets that will help you preserve your hearing.
1. Manage Your Blood Pressure
Persistently high blood pressure is not good. A study found that individuals with above-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to have hearing loss, not to mention other health issues.
Avoid injury to your hearing by taking steps to lower your blood pressure. Consult a doctor right away and never ignore your high blood pressure. Following your doctor’s guidance, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Quit Smoking
There are plenty of good reasons to quit smoking, here’s another: Smokers are 15% more likely to develop hearing loss. Even more shocking: People who are frequently subjected to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing problems. Even if you leave the room, smoke lingers for long periods of time with hazardous repercussions.
Consider protecting your hearing, if you smoke, by quitting. Take actions to reduce your exposure to second-hand smoke if you hang out around a smoker.
3. Control Your Diabetes
Diabetes or pre-diabetes affects one out of four adults. A pre-diabetic person is very likely to get diabetes within 5 years if they don’t make significant lifestyle changes.
High blood sugar harms blood vessels, which makes it very hard for them to effectively carry nutrients. A diabetic individual is more than two times as likely to cope with hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic individual.
If you have diabetes, protect your hearing by taking the proper steps to manage it. If you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes to prevent it.
4. Lose Some Weight
This isn’t about body image or feeling good about yourself. It’s about your health. Hearing loss and other health disorders rise as your Body Mass Index (BMI) increases. The chance of developing hearing loss goes up by 17% for a mildly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. For an individual with a BMI of 40 (moderate obesity), the risk rises to 25%.
Take actions to shed that extra weight. Something as simple as walking for 30 minutes each day can lower your risk of hearing loss and prolong your life.
5. OTC Medicines Shouldn’t be Overused
Hearing impairment can be the consequence of certain over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The more frequently these drugs are taken over a long period of time, the higher the risk.
Typical over-the-counter medicines that impact hearing include aspirin, NSAIDs (like naproxen, ibuprofen), and acetaminophen. Use these drugs in moderation and only with your doctor’s advice if you need to take them more frequently.
If you’re using the recommended dose for the occasional headache, studies indicate you’ll most likely be okay. The risk of hearing loss goes up to 40% for men, however, when these drugs are used on a daily basis.
Always follow your doctor’s advice. Your doctor may be able to recommend some lifestyle changes that will reduce your dependence on these medications if you are taking them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with iron as well as important nutrients including vitamins C and K. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Oxygen and nutrients are transported to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a major part of this process.
If you’re a vegetarian or eat very little meat, it’s important that you consume enough plant-based iron. You’re more likely to be iron deficient because the iron found in plants is less bioavailable than the iron found in meat.
More than 300,000 individuals were examined by Pennsylvania State University. People who have anemia (extreme iron deficiency) are two times as likely, according to this research, to develop sensorineural hearing loss than people who have normal iron concentrations. Age-related irreversible hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.
Sound is picked up and sent to the brain by tiny little hairs in the inner ear which resonate with the frequency and volume of that sound. If these hair cells die due to poor circulation or other complications related to iron deficiency, they won’t grow back.
You’re never too young to get your hearing examined, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Apply these steps to your life and prevent hearing loss.