Your sense of hearing is important in your life and when you lose it, there will be no natural way of getting it back. But curiously, the general public tends to neglect hearing loss. As a matter of fact, permanent hearing loss affects one out of eight people (nearly 30 million people) 12 and older in the United States alone.
While there are treatments that can help you regain your hearing, like hearing aids, it’s such an easy thing to protect your ears from the start to prevent avoidable hearing loss.
Protect your hearing with these five tips:
Don’t use earbuds
Earbuds have been a mobile device accessory since the early 2000s and are one of the biggest dangers to hearing. These little devices fit snugly into the ear canal and pump sound directly into the inner ear and most smartphones included them. You can get irreversible hearing damage by listening to music or a movie on your mobile device at maximum volume for only 15 minutes. The better option would be to buy a pair of earmuff-style headphones that go over your ears, which is made even more effective if you can find a pair that has noise-canceling technology. Following the 60/60 rule, which suggests a maximum volume of 60% for no higher than 60 minutes per day, is another safety measure to protect your hearing.
Keep your volume down
Earbuds don’t generate the only sounds that can harm your hearing. If you routinely listen to the TV or radio at high volumes over sustained periods, your hearing can also be harmed. Shooting ranges, concerts, construction zone, and other noisy environments should be avoided. Steering clear of these scenarios may only be possible in a perfect world, particularly if you’re a construction worker or a musician. If that’s the case, then you’ll want to take note of the next item on the list.
Use hearing protection
If you have hobbies or work in a loud environment, it’s essential that you make use of hearing protection. Hearing loss can happen in just 15 minutes at 85 decibels. To put that in perspective:
- 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 over 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours a week there
- 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
The takeaway here is that you should purchase some kind of hearing protection like earmuffs or earplugs if you take part in any of these activities.
Take auditory breaks
Sometimes giving your ears a rest is the best thing you can do. If you participated in any of the activities listed above, you should make certain to take some quiet time for yourself so your ears can rest and recuperate, even if you were using ear protection. So after you leave a concert, you most likely shouldn’t jump into your car and blast music.
Check your medicine
Your medicine could actually have a significant impact on your hearing. There are some medications that have been proven to trigger hearing loss including certain heart and cancer medications, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medication. Fortunately, medication related hearing loss normally only happens when more than one of these medicines are taken together making it far less common.
Looking to get treatment for your hearing loss? Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
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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
