You’ve probably already noticed that your hearing is failing. Hearing loss typically progresses due to decisions you make without recognizing they’re affecting your hearing.
With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be prevented. What follows are 6 tips that will help you protect your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
It’s not good if your blood pressure remains high. A study found that hearing loss was 52% more likely with individuals who have above average blood pressure and they are more likely to have other health problems as well.
Reduce injury to your hearing by taking steps to reduce your blood pressure. Don’t ignore high blood pressure or wait to see a doctor. Following your doctor’s guidance, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and exercising regularly are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Quit Smoking
Here’s another reason to quit: Smokers are 15% more likely to develop hearing loss. Even more shocking: Individuals who are frequently subjected to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to have hearing problems. Even if you go away from the room, smoke remains for long periods of time with hazardous consequences.
Consider protecting your hearing, if you’re a smoker, by quitting. If you hang out with a smoker, take steps to minimize your exposure to second-hand smoke.
3. Control Your Diabetes
Diabetes or pre-diabetes affects one out of four adults. Unless they make some significant lifestyle changes, someone who is pre-diabetic will very likely develop diabetes within 5 years.
High blood sugar harms blood vessels, which makes it extremely difficult for them to efficiently transport nutrients. Compared to a person who doesn’t have diabetes, a diabetic person has more than twice the chance of developing hearing loss.
If you suffer from diabetes, safeguard your hearing by taking the proper steps to manage it. Protect your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
4. Lose Some Weight
This isn’t about body image or feeling great about yourself. It’s about your health. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) rises, so does your risk of hearing loss and other health problems. The risk of developing hearing loss increases by 17% for a mildly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. For a person with a BMI of 40 (moderate obesity), the risk increases to 25%.
Take measures to shed that excess weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be protected by something as simple as walking for 30 minutes each day.
5. OTC Drugs Shouldn’t be Overused
Hearing loss can be the consequence of some over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The danger increases when these drugs are taken regularly over lengthy periods of time.
Medicines such as acetaminophen, naproxen, ibuprofen, and aspirin are known to cause hearing loss. Take these drugs sparingly and seek advice from your doctor if you’re using them on a regular basis.
Studies show that you’ll probably be fine if you’re taking these medications occasionally in the suggested doses. The danger of hearing loss goes up to 40% for men, however, when these medicines are used on a day-to-day basis.
Always follow your doctor’s recommendations. But if you’re taking these medicines every day to control chronic pain or thin your blood, speak with your doctor about lifestyle changes you can implement to lessen your dependence on OTC drugs.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with nutrients and vitamins like C and K and also has lots of iron. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Iron helps your blood carry oxygen and nutrients to cells to keep them healthy and nourished.
For vegetarians or individuals who don’t eat much meat, eating a sufficient amount of plant-based iron is important. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.
More than 300,000 people were examined by Pennsylvania State University. Individuals who have anemia (severe iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than people who have normal iron concentrations. Age-related irreversible hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.
Sound is picked up and transmitted to the brain by tiny little hairs in the inner ear which resonate with the volume and frequency of that sound. If these hair cells die as a result of poor circulation or other concerns related to iron deficiency, they won’t grow back.
You’re never too young to have your hearing tested, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Apply these steps to your life and prevent hearing loss.
