The first thing to do, when you start to recognize that you have hearing loss, is to avoid added damage. There are, in fact, some straightforward steps you can take to protect your hearing and minimize further hearing loss.
Step 1: Clean Your Ears
Remember learning to be certain you clean behind your ears when you learned general hygiene (or at least should have learned). When it comes to hearing health, however, we’re not worried about the space behind your ears, but rather your inner ears.
Keeping your ears free from wax buildup can help your hearing in many distinctive ways:
- Earwax buildup also inhibits the operation of your hearing aid if you use one. This might make it seem like your hearing is getting worse.
- Your brain and ability to decipher sound will ultimately be impacted by untreated hearing loss.
- Your ability to hear can also be impeded if you get a serious ear infection which can also be a result of unclean ears. When your ear infection clears, your regular hearing will usually return.
- When wax buildup becomes substantial, it can prevent sound from reaching your inner ear. As a result, your ability to hear becomes diminished.
You never turn to the use of a cotton swab to try and dig out built up earwax. Further damage can be caused by cotton swabs and they will often worsen your ability to hear. Instead, use over-the-counter ear drops.
Step 2: Avoid Loud Noises
This one is so intuitive it almost shouldn’t be listed. But knowing how loud is too loud is the real difficulty for most individuals. Over an extended period of time, for example, your ears can be damaged by driving on a busy highway. Your lawnmower motor can be fairly taxing on your ears, as well. Clearly, it’s more than rock concerts or loud speakers that cause hearing loss.
Some useful ways to avoid damaging noises include:
- When you can’t avoid loud settings, use hearing protection. Do you work on a noisy factory floor? Do you really want to go to that rock concert? That’s fun. Just wear the necessary hearing protection. A perfect illustration would be earplugs or earmuffs.
- Refraining from turning up the volume on your headphones when you’re listening to music or watching videos. When harmful volumes are being reached, most phones feature a built in warning.
- When decibel levels get too loud, an app on your phone can notify you of that.
Damage to the ears from noise doesn’t develop suddenly, it progresses gradually. So, even if your hearing “feels” okay after a loud event, it may not be. You can only get a clean bill of health for your ears by a hearing specialist.
Step #3: If You Have Any Hearing Impairment – Have it Treated
Generally speaking, hearing impairment is cumulative. So, the sooner you catch the damage, the better you’ll be capable of preventing additional damage. That’s why getting treated is incredibly important when it comes to limiting hearing loss. Effective treatments (on which you follow through) will put your hearing in the best possible shape.
Here’s how treatments work:
- Hearing aids can prevent some, but not all, damage. For example, hearing aids will prevent you from cranking your television volume up so loud it harms your ears. Hearing aids will counter additional degeneration of your hearing by stopping this damage.
- We can provide individualized instructions and advice to help you avoid added damage to your ears.
- The chance of developing hearing loss related health problems is reduced by wearing hearing aids because they prevent social isolation and brain strain.
Decreasing Hearing Impairment Will Benefit You in The Future
Although we can’t cure hearing loss, additional damage can be prevented with treatment. One of the principal ways to do that, in many situations, is hearing aids. Getting the necessary treatment will not only prevent additional damage but also keep your present hearing level intact.
When you wear hearing protection, exercise good hygiene, and pursue hearing loss treatment, you’re taking the correct measures to minimize hearing loss while also giving yourself the best chance for healthy hearing in the future.
