The first thing to do, when you begin to recognize that you have hearing loss, is to eliminate further damage. After all, you can take some easy actions to prevent additional damage and safeguard 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). But it’s actually the inner ear we’re concerned with keeping clean in terms of hearing health, rather than behind the ears.
There are several ways that keeping your ears clear of wax can assist your hearing:
- Unkempt ears increase your chances of getting an ear infection, which produces inflammation that (when severe enough) impedes your ability to hear. When your ear infection clears, your regular hearing will normally come back.
- Your brain and ability to interpret sound will inevitably be impacted by untreated hearing loss.
- Earwax buildup also inhibits the functionality of your hearing aid if you have one. You may end up thinking that your hearing is going downhill because of this.
- When wax buildup becomes significant, it can block sound from reaching your inner ear. Consequently, your ability to hear becomes diminished.
You never resort to using a cotton swab to attempt to dig out built up earwax. Further damage can be done by cotton swabs and they will often worsen your ability to hear. Over the counter ear drops are a smarter choice.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one is so instinctive it almost shouldn’t be listed. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most individuals. Over a long time period, for example, your hearing can be damaged by driving on a busy highway. The motor on your lawnmower can be rather taxing on your ears, also. As you can see, it’s not just blaring speakers or loud rock concerts that damage your ears.
Here are a few ways to avoid damaging noise:
- Making use of an app on your phone to warn you when volume levels get to hazardous levels.
- When you’re listening to music or watching videos keep the volume on your headphones at a manageable volume. When harmful levels are being reached, most phones come with a built in warning.
- Using ear protection when noisy environments are unavoidable. Does your job put you on the floor of a noisy manufacturing plant? Going to a rock concert? That’s cool. But be certain to wear the proper protection for your ears. A perfect example would be earplugs or earmuffs.
Damage to the ears from noise doesn’t happen abruptly, it progresses slowly. So, even if your hearing “seems” fine after a noisy event, that doesn’t mean it is. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing specialist.
Step #3: Treat Any Hearing Impairment You Might Have
Hearing loss accumulates most of the time. So, the sooner you catch the damage, the better you’ll be capable of preventing further damage. That’s why getting treated is incredibly important when it comes to limiting hearing loss. Your hearing will be at the greatest advantage if you find and follow through on effective treatment.
Here’s what you can expect:
- Our advice will help you learn to safeguard your hearing because it is customized and personalized for you.
- The potential of developing hearing loss related health issues is reduced by using hearing aids because they prevent social solitude and brain strain.
- Some, but not all damage can be prevented by using hearing aids. Hearing aids will, for example, let you listen to music or the TV at a lower volume, preventing damage. Because hearing aids prevent this damage, they can also prevent further degeneration of your hearing.
Decreasing Hearing Impairment Will Benefit You in The Long Run
Even though we don’t have a cure for hearing loss, additional damage can be prevented with treatment. One of the principal ways to do that, in many cases, is hearing aids. Getting the necessary treatment will not only prevent further damage but also keep your present hearing level intact.
When you use hearing protection, exercise good hygiene, and obtain hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the appropriate steps to limit hearing loss while also giving yourself the best chance for healthy hearing in the years to come.