Everyone wants to stay young for as long as they can. We spend a great number of hours trying everything we can to stay young. From specialized diets to gym memberships to Botox to wrinkle creams. And yet, even with all that effort (and all that time), the one thing that might actually work, we often avoid: wearing ear protection.
Hearing loss is often one of those “signs of aging” that we tend to consider to be inevitable. But it’s not as simple as that. By protecting your ears (and treating them with some kindness on the way), you can help prevent damage and keep your hearing in good condition. And as time goes by, great hearing can have considerable anti-aging benefits.
Hearing And Aging
The actual passing of time is not generally what we are referring to when we speak of aging. Instead, “aging” usually describes the presentation of certain physical, mental, or emotional characteristics that we associate with aging. Joint pain is a great example of this. When your knees begin to bother you, you might associate that with “growing old”. But lifestyle has as much to do with this as age does.
The same is true of many kinds of hearing loss. There’s a build-up of damage as you age. And in most situations, it’s the build-up of damage that causes the actual hearing deterioration. And it’s often downhill from there. Several other signs of aging have been associated with hearing loss:
- In some instances, the mental strain involved in trying to hear can lead to problems like loss of memory or insomnia. And that can make you feel like you’re getting old in a particularly intense way.
- Neglected hearing loss could cause you to isolate yourself from family or friends.
- Anxiety and depression have been shown to have a strong link to hearing loss.
- The onset of mental problems, including dementia, can often be accelerated by ignored or undetected hearing loss.
What to do About Age Related Hearing Loss
You’re really emphasizing damage prevention when you combat the “signs of aging” in your ears. And fortunately, there are a number of ways to achieve that. For instance, you can:
- If you happen to work in a somewhat noisy environment, wear ear protection. With modern quality ear muffs, loud sounds are eliminated while voices are still able to be heard with clarity.
- As much as possible, steer clear of loud noises. And when you can’t avoid high volume locations, wear hearing protection. So when you go to that concert with your favorite band, be sure to wear earplugs.
- Become more aware. You can still have harm to your hearing even if sounds aren’t painfully loud. Your ears can also be damaged by moderate noise if you are exposed to it for long time periods.
All of these steps will help safeguard your ears. But in order to keep your hearing in good shape you can do one more thing: schedule an appointment with us for a hearing examination. Catching hearing loss before it’s perceptible can be achieved by having regular examinations. You should still get an exam even if your hearing is fine so that you can have a standard to compare against in the future.
Keep Your Hearing Healthy With Hearing Aids
The world we live in can be loud. Your ability to avoid damage is critical, but you may eventually detect some hearing loss in spite of your best efforts. You should seek out help right away if you do notice any symptoms of hearing loss. A good set of hearing aids can help lessen some of the so-called age-related issues related to hearing impairments.
You could maybe consider hearing aids as a facelift for your ears: something to make your ears to function a little more youthfully. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other problems at bay. The analogy isn’t perfect, as hearing aids are needed and a facelift isn’t, but you get the idea. Wrinkle creams could help you look younger. But if you actually want to combat aging and feel somewhat more youthful, your best bet is to protect your ears and treat your hearing loss.
