Your sense of hearing is crucial in your life and when it’s gone, there will be no natural way for it to return But strangely, the general public tends to neglect hearing loss. In the US alone, one in eight individuals over the age of 12 suffer from untreated and irreversible hearing loss.
While there are treatments that can help you get some hearing back, like hearing aids, it’s such a simple thing to protect your ears from the beginning to prevent avoidable hearing loss.
Here are five simple ways that you can safeguard your hearing:
Don’t use earbuds
Earbuds are one of the biggest threats to hearing health today since they’ve come packaged with mobile devices going back to the first MP3 devices in the early 2000s. These little devices sit snugly into the ear canal and pump sound straight into the inner ear and most smartphones come with them. Listening to music or a movie on your mobile device at full volume for only 15 minutes can result in permanent hearing loss. The better option would be to buy a pair of earmuff-style headphones that go over your ears, which is made even better if you can find a set that has noise-canceling technology. No matter what devices you use, you should stick to the 60/60 rule – keep the volume at 60% maximum and only use the devices for 60 minutes each day.
Lower the volume
Your hearing can be damaged by other things besides earbuds. If you regularly listen to the radio or TV at loud volumes over prolonged periods, your hearing can also be harmed. You’ll also want to steer clear of situations where loud noises are constant, such as construction zones, concerts, and shooting ranges. Steering clear of these scenarios may only happen in a perfect world, particularly if you’re a construction worker or a musician. If that’s the situation, then you’ll want to pay attention to the next item on the list.
Use hearing protection
Hearing protection is essential if you work in a setting or enjoy hobbies that expose you to loud noises. 85 decibels over a period of 15 minutes is enough to cause hearing loss. To put that in perspective:
- The majority of concerts are between 100 and 120 decibels with headliners usually playing for about an hour and 20 minutes
- Jackhammers at a construction site generate 130 decibels, which could cause significant harm after a 40-hour workweek
- The average gunshot clocks in at 149 decibels, which is multiplied and amplified over the course of a one hour visit to an indoor shooting range
If you take part in any of these activities, you need to purchase a good set of earmuffs or earplugs.
Take auditory breaks
Sometimes you just need to give your ears a rest. If you engaged in any of the activities listed above, you really should make certain to take some quiet time for yourself so your ears can rest and recover, even if you were using ear protection. So after you leave a concert, you most likely shouldn’t jump into your car and blast music.
Check your medicine
Your medicine could actually have a significant impact on your hearing. There are certain medications that have been proven to cause hearing loss including some heart and cancer medications, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicine. Luckily, medication related hearing loss usually only happens when more than one of these medications are taken together making it far less common.
Are you coping with hearing loss and want to seek out new treatment? Make an appointment with us for a hearing assessment.
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
