4 Ways to Improve Hearing Health
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), around 15% of adults in the U.S. report having trouble hearing, and that risk increases with age.
While auditory impairment isn't reversible, you can adopt lifestyle changes to prevent or delay its onset. If you have mild to moderate hearing loss, you can also achieve better hearing using a hearing aid device.
A professional exam and fitting by an audiologist can help you find the best hearing aid, such as a prescription model like Oticon. However, over-the-counter options like Eargo can be purchased without a hearing test and offer self-fitting capabilities. Online hearing tests are also available to help guide you in choosing the right OTC device.
Read on for tips on how to maintain your hearing health.
Limit exposure to loud environments
Frequent exposure to loud sounds can damage the delicate structures in the inner ear, leading to permanent hearing loss. Consistent exposure to loud noises can also cause tinnitus — a persistent ringing, buzzing or roaring sound in your ear — and significantly decrease your quality of life. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) can happen gradually, or suddenly due to an extremely loud sound.
Sound is measured in decibels (dB), and there's a decibel threshold at which noise becomes damaging to the human ear. Normal conversation sounds, the humming of a clothes dryer or the sound of a stream are safe sounds because they typically stay under 70 dB. Consistent exposure to sounds higher than that can be harmful. For context, sirens from emergency vehicles measure 110 to 129 dB, lawnmowers operate at 80 to 100 dB, and sports events measure from 94 to 110 dB.
Here's what you can do to protect yourself from noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL):
- Avoid environments with high decibel levels, such as concerts or industrial workplaces.
- Wear earplugs to soften the sound at concerts, theaters and loud events.
- Use noise-canceling headphones to reduce ambient noise.
- Take regular breaks from noisy environments to give your ears time to recover.
Stop smoking cigarettes
Research suggests that smoking cigarettes increases the risk of hearing loss. More specifically, cigarettes can damage the eustachian tube (a tube that runs from your middle ear to the back of your throat), increase your blood pressure and interfere with blood flow to the ears. Smoking can also interfere with certain brain neurotransmitters responsible for processing sound coming in from the ears.
Wear earplugs
Protective earplugs are among the best hearing protection devices available, especially when regular activities like going to the movies or listening to music get too loud.
You can purchase noise-softening earplugs online from various companies. These little devices typically include two or three plug sizes in a discreet casing, and you can use them just as you would a pair of in-ear headphones.
Though expensive, the best upgrade is custom-fitted earplugs adjusted by a hearing specialist. These are molded to the exact shape of your ear and provide improved comfort and protection.
Lower the volume
Home media centers, video gaming systems and personal listening devices deliver sound at volumes that can be damaging. Moreover, their long battery life and access to unlimited content mean that individuals are often exposed to unsafe volumes for extended periods.
To protect your hearing, consider the following:
- Don't listen to TV, music and other media at maximum volume.
- Follow the 60/60 rule: listen to media at no more than 60% of maximum volume for no longer than 60 minutes at a time.
- When you're out and about, avoid increasing the volume to drown out background noise. Consider noise-canceling headphones instead.
- Take 15- to 20-minute breaks to give your heart a rest.
- Use over-ear headphones instead of earbuds, as they can be less damaging to your ears.
Simply put, hearing loss happens when the hair cells in your inner ear get damaged or die. These hair cells don't grow back and the damage is permanent. Loud noises, ear infections, genetic predisposition, earwax buildup, smoking, and natural aging can cause hearing loss.
Your ears also need good blood flow, and hair cells may suffer if you have heart problems — poor blood circulation can starve these cells of oxygen and damage vital blood vessels in your ear. Lastly, nutritional imbalances may also play a part. Some studies suggest that B vitamin deficiency and folic acid deficiency can cause hearing loss and that taking supplements can make a positive difference.
Unfortunately, you can't reverse hearing loss if it's caused by damage to the inner ear or auditory nerve (known as sensorineural hearing loss). However, advances in healthcare have made it so that people with mild to severe hearing loss can get hearing aid assistive devices like in-ear plugs or cochlear implants.
Therapy offers hope for certain types of hearing loss. Magnesium therapy can help treat abrupt hearing loss (known as sudden sensorineural hearing loss), and conductive hearing loss (caused by blockages or damage to the ear canal) may be reversed through medical or surgical intervention.
Summary of Money's 4 Ways to Improve Hearing Health
Hearing loss, especially age-related hearing loss, affects millions of people, and losing this sense can impact our overall health, too. Older adults with hearing loss are at a higher risk of developing dementia, and their cognitive abilities tend to decline faster.
Implementing these measures early on can protect your hearing and delay loss as much as possible:
- Limit exposure to noisy environments
- Stop smoking cigarettes
- Wear protective earplugs as needed
- Lower the volume when you listen to music or watch TV
If you suspect that you have hearing problems, visit an audiology clinic for a checkup. A hearing healthcare professional can administer the right hearing tests, identify the problem and create a treatment plan.