Your ability to hear is precious – once you lose it, the likelihood of getting it back in its natural form is slim to nil. But curiously, the general public tends to disregard hearing loss. As a matter of fact, permanent hearing loss impacts one out of eight individuals (nearly 30 million people) 12 and older in the United States alone.
Protecting your hearing from the beginning is the best and simplest 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 simple ways that you can protect your hearing:
Earbuds should be avoided
Earbuds have been packaged with mobile devices since the early 2000s and are one of the biggest threats to hearing. Nearly every smartphone available comes with a set of these little devices that sit snugly in your ear and pump sound directly into your ear canal. You can get irreversible hearing damage by listening to music or a movie on your mobile device at full volume for only 15 minutes. Over the ear style headphones, especially the ones with noise canceling technology, would be a better option. No matter what sound devices you use, you should follow the 60/60 rule – keep the volume at 60% maximum and only use the devices for 60 minutes per day.
Keep your volume down
Your hearing can be damaged by other things besides earbuds. Loud noises from a radio or TV can do as much harm if you regularly listen to them over a prolonged period of time. Gun ranges, concerts, construction zone, and other loud environments should be avoided. It may be impractical to completely avoid these situations particularly if they’re part of your job. The next item on the list will be significant if you’re in this situation.
Utilize hearing protection
If you have hobbies or work in a loud environment, it’s essential that you utilize 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 gun range, your ears are repeatedly exposed to gunfire that clocks in at over 150 decibels on average
- At the majority of concerts the headlining band plays for up to two hours at well above 120 decibels
- The noise of a construction site can be above 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours every week there
The moral here is that you should get yourself some kind of hearing protection like earmuffs or earplugs if you engage in any of these activities.
Take auditory breaks
There are times you just need to give your ears a break. Even if you use ear protection, if you are subjected to loud noises like these for extended periods, you should take some quiet breaks to give your ears some time to rest. That means, you definitely shouldn’t get into your car and start blaring loud music right after you come out of a 3-hour concert.
Check your medicine
Your hearing may be substantially affected by the medication you use. Aspirin, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, and some heart and cancer medicines have all been proven to cause hearing loss. The good news is that medication-related hearing loss is not common and is more likely if you use two or more of those medications together making it easier to prevent.
Looking to find treatment for your hearing loss? Make an appointment with us for a hearing exam.
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
