Your sense of hearing is important in your life and when it’s gone, there will be no natural way of getting it back. But strangely, the general public tends to disregard hearing loss. As a matter of fact, permanent hearing loss impacts one in every eight people (about 30 million people) 12 and older in the United States alone.
Protecting your hearing from the start is the best and easiest way to prevent hearing loss, but if you’re already experiencing hearing loss you can get much of your hearing back with a hearing aid.
Here are five easy ways that you can protect your hearing:
Earbuds should be avoided
Earbuds have been a mobile device accessory since the early 2000s and are one of the biggest dangers to hearing. These little devices fit snugly into the ear canal and pump sound directly into the inner ear and most smartphones included them. You can get irreversible hearing damage by listening to a movie or music on your mobile device at maximum volume for only 15 minutes. Over the ear style headphones, especially the ones with noise canceling technology, would be a better option. Following the 60/60 rule, which recommends a maximum volume of 60% for no higher than 60 minutes per day, is another safety measure to safeguard your hearing.
Keep your volume down
Earbuds don’t produce the only sounds that can harm your hearing. Loud noises from a TV or radio can do as much harm if you consistently listen to them over a sustained period of time. Gun ranges, concerts, construction zone, and other loud settings should be avoided. Steering clear of these situations may only be possible in a perfect world, particularly if you’re a construction worker or a musician. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to take note of the next item on the list.
Hearing protection will help
If you have hobbies or work in a noisy setting, it’s crucial that you use hearing protection. Hearing loss can happen in just 15 minutes at 85 decibels. To put that in perspective:
- Over a one hour trip to the indoor gun range, your ears are repeatedly exposed to gunfire that clocks in at over 150 decibels on average.
- The noise of a construction site can be above 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours every week there
- The majority of concerts are between 100 and 120 decibels with headliners usually playing for about an hour and 20 minutes
The takeaway here is that you should invest in some type of hearing protection such as earmuffs or earplugs if you take part in any of these activities.
Take auditory breaks
There are times you just need to give your ears a rest. If you participated in any of the activities listed above, you should make certain to take some quiet time to yourself so your ears can rest and recover, even if you were using hearing protection. That means, you probably shouldn’t get into your car and start blasting loud music right after you come out of a 3-hour concert.
Check your medicine
Your medicine may actually have a substantial effect on your hearing. There are certain medications that have been proven to trigger hearing loss including some heart and cancer medications, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medication. The good news is that medication-related hearing loss isn’t common and is more likely if you take two or more of those medications at the same time making it easier to prevent.
Looking to get treatment for your hearing loss? Contact us today to set up a consultation.
Resources
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_does_loud_noise_cause_hearing_loss.html
https://armeddefense.org/hearing-protection
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tf3092
