Sometimes it’s easy to forget about the health of your hearing. Hearing loss isn’t something people tend to think of until the damage has been done and they’re looking at hearing aids. With all the health concerns out there hearing health tends to slide down the list until it’s all but forgotten. Unfortunately, this leads to poor hearing health habits and earlier hearing loss.
No one wants to deal with hearing loss, but there are definitely ways you can maintain healthy hearing for a longer period of time. If you change up a few habits and make some better choices while your hearing is still healthy you’re going to have less trouble down the road.
Maintaining healthy hearing is always preferable to dealing with the negative impacts of neglecting your hearing health. Many hearing aid providers will talk about different habits you can adopt to protect your hearing for as long as possible. If you’re wondering what you can do to keep your hearing health at an optimal level keep reading. There are some great tips out there.
Pay Attention To Your Surroundings:
One of the ways you can maintain healthier hearing is to pay attention to the noises around you. Avoiding loud sounds when possible is a great idea. When it’s not possible you can opt to use earplugs or other types of ear protection. The point is to not get sidetracked and become unaware of the loud noises that could be damaging your hearing.
If you take a few extra seconds to think about the noises going on around you, you’ll be able to pick out when something is too loud. If it makes you cringe or jump, and it’s a consistent noise, it’s time to do something. Move away from the noise or use hearing protection if you can’t. Either way, just make sure you’re keeping the noise level around you in mind at all times.
What’s Too Loud?
Anything over 85 decibels is something that could be damaging to your hearing health. Things that might be in the background but actually rank above 85dB would be:
- Busy traffic
- Motorcycles
- Loud music (Especially with headphones)
- Planes taking off
These are the types of things that are easy to forget about but make a big impact if you ignore them over a long period of time. Paying attention to what’s around you will help protect your hearing. Once you’re aware of the loud noises going on around you, you can make the best choices for your hearing.
Be Careful With Your Music:
As you now know, loud music can be something you are easily forgetting about being a possible harmful thing for your hearing health. If you’re blasting music and using headphones you’re risking the health of your hearing every time. If this is something you’re doing on a regular basis the risk becomes even greater.
Instead of turning up the volume of your music you can choose to use better headphones. Noise canceling headphones will block out background noise that may be causing you to turn up your music in the first place. If you’re not having to drown out other noises you can turn the music down to a safer volume for your hearing.
The next time you get done using your headphones see how you’re feeling. Are your ears ringing? Do they feel like they hurt a little? These could be signs that your music is too loud. Some smartphones will even warn you about the volume level if you have headphones plugged in. Take those warnings seriously. Loud music really can be damaging to your hearing.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late:
Have your hearing checked early and regularly. It’s something you can make part of your annual check-up with your doctor, or set up separately. No matter which option you choose make sure you aren’t waiting until you think there’s a problem to get your hearing checked. If your hearing is becoming an issue the earlier you catch it the more options you’ll have.
Having regular hearing tests is a great way to maintain your hearing health and to help make sure you’re discussing any hearing concerns with your doctor. Again, discussing those concerns early on is a much better way to deal with any possible issues. Early detection of any slight loss in hearing is a key way to alert your doctor and you that it’s time to get more serious about protecting the health of your hearing.
Concerns you should take note of and talk with your doctor about include:
- Straining to hear conversations.
- Straining to hear when there’s a lot of background noise.
- Trouble hearing while talking on the phone.
- Often misunderstanding what others are saying.
- Frequently asking others to repeat themselves.
- Consistently having to turn up the volume on the TV.
- Difficulty understanding higher voices like women or children.
Make sure you’re talking with your doctor about any signs like the ones mentioned that you might notice. Remember, even if you have noticed any of those signs yet it’s still a good idea to have your hearing tested. If something is going on, you’ll want the chance to make changes before more serious damage is done.
Consider Quitting Smoking:
Research is increasingly supportive of the fact that smoking causes damage to your hearing health in addition to the other negative effects it has on your body. If you’re serious about protecting the health of your hearing, it’s time to seriously consider quitting your smoking habit. It’s a tough habit to break but the benefits are well worth it.
If you’re struggling to quit you can talk with your doctor about that too. There are always things they can suggest to help or even medications that they can prescribe to make it easier. The health benefits of quitting smoking are numerous and protecting your hearing is just one of the many things you’ll enjoy when you finally break the habit.
Conclusion:
Protecting the health of your hearing is something that starts now. It’s not something you can put off until you’re showing signs of hearing loss. The good thing is a lot of the ways you can protect your hearing really don’t require big changes. Moving away from loud noises when possible, lowering the volume of your music, and getting your hearing check are all easy things to do.
Once you make these small changes you’ll be making better decisions for the health of your hearing without realizing it. Small changes add up to big benefits when it comes to your hearing and maintaining it for as long as possible. Just remember to make the changes as soon as you can. Your ears will thank you for your proactive choices.