The first thing to do, when you start to recognize that you have hearing loss, is to avoid added damage. After all, you can take some simple steps to avoid further damage and protect your ears.
Step 1: Keep Your Ears Clean
Remember learning to be certain you clean behind your ears when you learned basic hygiene (or at least should have learned). In terms of hearing health, however, we aren’t concerned with the space behind your ears, but rather your inner ears.
There are multiple ways that keeping your ears free of wax can help your hearing:
- Your ability to hear can also be interfered with if you get a severe ear infection which can also be a result of dirty ears. Your hearing will go back to normal after the ear infection clears.
- Your brain and ability to decipher sound will ultimately be affected by untreated hearing loss.
- Earwax buildup also interferes with the functionality of your hearing aid if you use one. You might end up feeling like your hearing is going downhill because of this.
- Sound can be blocked from getting into the inner ear when there’s too much wax buildup. Consequently, your hearing becomes weakened.
You never resort to using a cotton swab to try and dig out excess earwax. In most instances, a cotton swab will make things worse or cause additional damage. Over the counter ear drops are a smarter choice.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one should almost be left off the list it’s so intuitive. But determining how loud is too loud is the real problem for most individuals. For instance, highway driving can be loud enough to damage your ears over an extended period of time. The motor on your lawnmower can be pretty taxing on your ears, too. Clearly, it’s more than rock concerts or high volume speakers that cause hearing impairment.
Here are some ways to avoid damaging noise:
- When decibel levels get too loud, an app on your phone can notify you of that.
- When you’re listening to music or watching videos keep the volume on your headphones at a manageable volume. Most phones have built-in warnings when you’re approaching a dangerous threshold.
- When you can’t steer clear of noisy environments, use hearing protection. Do you work on a noisy factory floor? Do you really want to attend that rock concert? That’s cool. Just use the necessary ear protection. A perfect example would be earmuffs and earplugs.
The damage to your ears from loud sounds will build up gradually. So, even if your hearing “seems” okay after a noisy event, it may not be. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing specialist.
Step #3: If You Have Any Hearing Impairment – Have it Addressed
Hearing loss accumulates most of the time. So recognizing any damage early on will help prevent added injury. So when it comes to slowing down hearing loss, treatment is so essential. Effective treatments (on which you follow through) will leave your hearing in the best possible condition.
Here’s how treatments work:
- Hearing aids can stop some, but not all, damage. For instance, hearing aids will prevent you from turning your television volume up so loud it damages your ears. Because hearing aids counter this damage, they can also stop further degeneration of your hearing.
- The potential of developing hearing loss related health problems is diminished by wearing hearing aids because they minimize social isolation and brain strain.
- Our guidance will help you learn to protect your hearing because it is customized and personalized for you.
Limiting 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 stop further damage. In many instances, hearing aids are one of the principal ways to achieve that. The appropriate treatment will help you preserve your present level of hearing and stop it from worsening.
Your allowing yourself the best possibility for healthy hearing into the future by using ear protection, getting the proper treatment, and practicing good hearing hygiene.