Invest in your future health by taking measures to protect your hearing today. Hearing damage can be caused by a variety of factors, but there are steps you can take to prevent this. It is important to care for your auditory health whether you have a degree of hearing loss and want to keep it from worsening, or are trying to prevent hearing damage later on. Try incorporating the tips below into your daily life to protect your hearing and take better care of your ears.
Q-tips, also known as cotton swabs, are not recommended for cleaning the inside of the ear canal as they can actually be harmful to hearing health. There are several reasons why using q-tips for ear cleaning is not a good idea. Using cotton swabs to clean the ear canal can result in ear injury and is also ineffective at removing earwax and dirt from the ear canal. The ear canal is very delicate, and inserting a cotton swab into the ear can cause injury, such as a punctured eardrum, scratches or abrasions. This can lead to pain, bleeding, infection, and even hearing loss. Although cotton swabs are typically used with the goal of removing built-up earwax or debris, Q-tips can actually push the earwax deeper into the ear canal. Wax can then cause the ear to become impacted and possibly block the ear canal, causing discomfort, hearing loss, and even dizziness.
Earwax protects your ear and removing all or too much of it can lead to dry, itchy ears and increase the risk of infection. Additionally, the ear canal is a self-cleaning system, and the earwax will naturally work its way out of the ear canal over time.
Monitoring the volume of sound is important for hearing health as listening to audio too loudly for too long can cause hearing loss over time. Be sure to use proper ear protection and limit the maximum volume of your devices.
When using headphones or earbuds, use the 60/60 rule. Keep the volume of your headphones at or below 60 percent of the maximum volume, and listen for no more than 60 minutes at a time. The kinds of headphones you wear also play a role. Consider using noise-canceling headphones to help reduce the need to turn up the volume in busy or high-traffic settings. Remember to give your ears a break, especially if you notice ringing in your ears. If you are an iPhone user, there is even a built-in feature on your phone that lets you know if your headphone volume is too loud and compares your volume settings to past use. This tool can be a great starting point to take better care of your hearing health and give a baseline of the decibels your ears are generally exposed to.
If you know that you will be at a concert, around firearms, attending a sporting event or using power tools, remember to protect your ears. When you are exposed to loud noises, sound waves enter your ear canal and cause your eardrum to vibrate. These vibrations are then transmitted to the tiny hair cells inside your inner ear, which convert the vibrations into electrical signals that are sent to your brain. If the sound waves are too loud or too intense, they can damage these hair cells and cause hearing loss.
Earplugs are an easy and affordable way to protect your hearing by reducing the intensity and amount of sound waves that enter your ear canal. When inserted in the ear canal, earplugs create a seal to block and absorb sound waves from the eardrum and hair cells in the inner ear. Available in a variety of materials like foam, silicone, or rubber, different earplugs are designed for use in specific environments. It's important to choose the right type of earplugs depending on what activity they are being used in. For example, musicians' earplugs are designed to reduce sound levels while maintaining sound quality, while foam earplugs may be more appropriate for noisy workplaces or concerts. Additionally, it's important to wear earplugs properly to ensure they provide adequate protection.
Prolonged exposure to loud noise can damage your hearing over time. This type of hearing loss is called noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). When you are exposed to loud noise for an extended period of time, the hair cells in your inner ear, called cilia, can become damaged or destroyed, leading to hearing loss.
Noise-induced hearing loss usually develops gradually over time and is often not noticeable until it has become more severe. There are many activities that can put you at risk of hearing loss, from everyday things like blow-drying your hair to attending a music festival. Exposure to noise levels above 85 dB for prolonged periods can cause hearing loss, while impact noises greater than 140 dB, such as from fireworks or firearms, can immediately impact hearing. The average noise level of a concert for example is 100 db, which can cause lasting hearing damage after only five minutes of exposure. When exposed to noise, consider not only how loud it is but your proximity to the sound as well. Avoid standing close to the source of the noise and take frequent breaks away to allow your ears and cilia a moment to recover.
Keeping your ears dry is important for hearing health because excess moisture in the ear canal can lead to ear infections, which can in turn cause hearing loss. When water enters the ear canal, it can create a moist environment that is conducive to bacterial and fungal growth, and infection as a consequence. Wearing earplugs when swimming protects your ear from water entering in the first place, but also from water flowing in the wrong direction and inward towards the middle ear. By keeping your ears dry, you help avoid inflammation and infection. If you suffer from recurrent ear infections, you may consider wearing earplugs when bathing or in the shower as well.
Regular ear and hearing checks are important for maintaining good hearing health and detecting any potential problems early. By catching changes in hearing early on, you can better prevent further damage to your hearing.
Hearing screenings and ear checks can also help detect other problems related to the ears, such as ear infections, wax buildup, and other conditions that can affect your hearing. Regular checkups are essential for those who use hearing assistive devices like hearing aids to ensure they are functioning properly and in case your needs change over time. How often you should get a hearing test depends on your age, health, and your exposure to loud noises. However, you should plan to get your hearing screened once every two years. For those who are over 60 or who have a family history of hearing loss, you may consider getting your hearing checked every year. If you notice changes in your hearing, tinnitus or ringing in your ears, or notice a decrease in your ability to hear soft or high-pitched sounds these indicate you should see a hearing healthcare provider.
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