Your ability to hear is precious – once you lose it, the likelihood of getting it back in its natural form is not likely. But strangely, the general public tends to disregard hearing loss. As a matter of fact, permanent hearing loss affects one out of eight people (about 30 million people) 12 and older in the United States alone.
Protecting your hearing from the beginning is the best and easiest way to prevent hearing loss, but if you’re already experiencing hearing loss you can recover much of your hearing with a hearing aid.
Here are five simple ways that you can protect your hearing:
Don’t use earbuds
Earbuds have been packaged with mobile devices since the early 2000s and are one of the biggest threats to hearing. Almost every smartphone on the market comes with a set of these little devices that fit snugly in your ear and pump sound straight into your ear canal. Listening to a movie or music on your mobile device at full volume for just 15 minutes can cause irreversible hearing loss. The better choice would be to buy a set of earmuff-style headphones that go over your ears, which is made even more effective if you can find a pair that has noise-canceling technology. Sticking to the 60/60 rule, which recommends a maximum volume of 60% for no higher than 60 minutes a day, is another safety measure to safeguard your hearing.
Reduce the volume
Earbuds don’t generate the only sounds that can harm your hearing. If you routinely listen to the radio or TV at high volumes over sustained periods, your hearing can also be harmed. Shooting ranges, concerts, construction zone, and other loud settings should be avoided. Steering clear of these scenarios may only be possible in a perfect world, especially if you’re a construction worker or a musician. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to pay attention to the next item on the list.
Use hearing protection
If you have hobbies or work in a noisy environment, it’s essential that you make use of hearing protection. Hearing loss can happen in just 15 minutes at 85 decibels. Compare that to the following:
- Over a one hour trip to the indoor shooting 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 over 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours every week there
- Most concerts are between 100 and 120 decibels with headliners normally playing for about an hour and 20 minutes
The moral here is that you should invest in some sort of hearing protection such as earmuffs or earplugs if you take part in any of these activities.
Take auditory breaks
Sometimes giving your ears a break is the best thing you can do. If you engaged in any of the activities listed above, you really should make certain to take some quiet time to yourself so your ears can rest and recover, even if you were wearing hearing protection. So after you leave a concert, you most likely shouldn’t jump into your car and blast music.
Check your medicine
Your hearing may be substantially affected by the medication you take. There are certain medicines that have been proven to trigger hearing loss including some heart and cancer medicines, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medicine. 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.
Are you coping with hearing loss and want to seek out new treatment? Get in touch with us today to set up a consultation.
Resources
https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/hearing_loss/how_does_loud_noise_cause_hearing_loss.html