A single vital part of your health you may be unaware of is how interconnected your hearing is to the function of your body. There have been lots of studies and links establishing conditions in one part of the body affecting people’s ability to hear. It’s been noted that many of these adverse affects are connected to an unhealthy habit, such as smoking or obesity. You may do these things without even realizing the risk, so let’s explore some of the unhealthy habits that can have a negative impact on your hearing.
Failure to Visit Your Doctor
This is perhaps the biggest one: neglecting the doctor visits. Many people don’t go to the doctor unless they have an emergency or are sick. But by honoring regular well-visits with your healthcare provider, you can better track any changes in your hearing and determine what risks you have in terms of your hearing. Your doctor can then tell you how to improve your lifestyle and lower your risk of hearing loss.
Loud Noise Exposure
Extremely loud noises in daily living can have a negative effect on your hearing. The biggest risk here is attending a concert, where each pulse of the speakers can bring on temporary and long-term damage to your ears, especially if you sit close. But it can be something much more mundane, like blasting your video games or the television to unnecessarily high levels. All of these negative habits can have a huge effect on your hearing. What can you do? Lower the volume.
Sedentary Lifestyle
Sitting around without enjoying regular exercise or a healthy diet can be detrimental to your ears. It’s true. Obesity is a health danger than threatens people these days, and a sedentary lifestyle is a big culprit in this. Obesity, unfortunately, can cause diabetes which causes your blood to circulate poorly throughout your body. If you have poor circulation, you have a much higher risk of hearing loss, but you can do things to mitigate this risk through eating right and getting into a fitness routine.
Smoking
We all know smoking is unhealthy, but in terms of your overall health, it’s especially bad for your hearing. It’s hard to get a grasp on the connection between smoking and hearing, but this poses a very real threat. Cigarette chemicals can do a number on the vibration sensors in your ears, making it difficult for perception of small tidbits of sound.
Listening to an MP3 Player
One of the easiest ways to provide a distraction against the boredom or noise of life is to use ear buds to listen to music. Sure, this can be a great way to groove, especially while waiting for a bus or during your workout at the gym. But you are damaging your ears whenever you blast the music. This is because you’re directing a large amount of sound directly into your inner ear where there is nowhere for it to scatter. When all that energy crashes against your eardrum, hearing loss can occur.