Instead, I am going to write
about what you can do to avoid the second-leading cause of hearing loss —
noise-induced hearing loss.
Did you know that one in four U.S. adults have
noise-induced hearing loss? That’s a lot of people (at least 40 million)! The
good news is that you can protect your hearing in most situations. And if you
practice good hearing protection, not only do you increase your chances of
avoiding noise-induced hearing loss, it will go a long way towards
helping you avoid age-related hearing loss, which is the number one cause of
hearing loss.
Here are a few ways to protect your hearing (and
help avoid hearing loss):
MINIMIZE YOUR EXPOSURE TO LOUD NOISES
This is the best way to avoid
hearing loss. How do you know what’s too loud? Environments where you have to
raise your voice to talk to other people, where you can’t hear what people
nearby are saying, where the noise hurts your ears or, really, where any noise
exceeds 85 decibels are too loud.
WEAR HEARING PROTECTION
There are times when you are
put into loud situations or environments and you simply can’t avoid them. These
include certain work environments, sporting events, concerts, bars/clubs,
mowing your lawn, etc. In those situations, you should use hearing protection.
Hearing protection comes in a variety of
different styles including ear plugs, custom plugs, “earmuffs” and more.
WATCH THE VOLUME
With the way technology is
advancing these days, almost everyone has something in their ears. Consider
investing in higher quality earphones that block out background noise, to help
you moderate your listening levels in noisier places.
Also, the general rule of thumb to use when
setting your volume is: You should be able to hear and converse with a person
arm’s length away from you easily. If you cannot, then it is too loud.
BUY QUIETER PRODUCTS
You probably never think about
how loud some of your household products are. Some products such as children’s
toys, blenders and hair dryers. can get louder than 100 decibels! That means
that it would take less than 15 minutes of use for you to damage your hearing.
I justified buying a fancy new hair dryer because of how loud my old hair dryer
was.
There are other decisions or changes you can
make in your life to help avoid hearing loss, including:
DON’T PUT ANYTHING IN YOUR EAR
Your ears naturally clean
themselves. By putting products in your ears, you can cause infections and or
actually puncture your ear drum, which can lead to permanent hearing loss.
DON’T SMOKE
Research studies have shown a
positive correlation between smoking and hearing loss. It’s better just to say
no.
KEEP A HEALTHY DIET
Other research studies show
that women who maintain a healthy diet have reduced risk/rates of moderate to
severe hearing loss compared to women who do not eat healthy.
GET YOUR HEARING TESTED
Having your hearing tested
regularly is a great way to know how your auditory system is working. By
getting your hearing tested regularly, you will be able to monitor your hearing
easily, know if any changes are occurring, and treat any hearing loss early,
before it gets to be a problem.
Nothing is guaranteed to prevent hearing loss.
But the advice above should help you avoid it, or at least put it off for as
long as possible.