Six Ways to Naturally Preserve Your Hearing
#1: Protect your ears from loud noises
Loud noise is bad for your ears. Over time, loud sounds can damage the nerves in your inner ear. Once they’re damaged, they don’t send signals to your brain as well as they once did.
#2: Carry earplugs
Keeping a set of earplugs in a bag or in your pocket is a good way to protect your ears. Then be sure to pop them in in places where the sound is usually loud, such as concerts and large sporting events.
#3: If you smoke, quit
Tiny blood vessels carry oxygen-rich blood to the many parts of the ear. And that steady supply of blood is crucial for your hearing. Anything that restricts blood flow can raise the risk of hearing loss.
One of them is smoking cigarettes. Smokers are almost twice as likely to have hearing loss as people who never smoked or quit, according to a study that followed more than 3,400 people over 30 years. Of course, smoking harms other parts of your body too, including your heart and blood vessels. If you’re still smoking, talk to your primary care provider about finding ways to stop.
#4: Exercise and eat right
What’s good for your heart is also good for your hearing. Aim to:
● Get 150 minutes of moderate activity each week (that’s about 30 minutes most days of the week).
● Eat a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
These habits may lower your risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and high blood pressure. So can getting good quality sleep and lowering stress.
#5: Be careful when you clean your ears
Earwax is nature’s way of protecting your ears from dirt and infection. Normally, your ears do a good job of clearing out the wax. But sometimes it builds up.
If that happens, don’t grab a cotton swab and dig it out. (Don’t use a paper clip either.) Push too far and you might puncture your eardrum. Or risk an infection by scratching the inside of your ear.And infections can also lead to hearing loss.
#6: Get a hearing test
Even if you don’t have signs of hearing loss, it’s a good idea to have a hearing exam to establish your baseline hearing. A hearing care professional, such as an audiologist or hearing care specialist, can give you a comprehensive hearing exam. An audiologist can also diagnose hearing loss.