Your sense of hearing is crucial in your life and when it’s gone, there will be no natural way of getting it back. But for some reason, hearing loss tends to go neglected and uncontrolled in the general population. In the US alone, one in eight people over the age of 12 copes with untreated and permanent hearing loss.

While there are treatments that can help you get some hearing back, like hearing aids, it’s such a simple thing to protect your ears from the start to prevent unnecessary hearing loss.

Protect your hearing with these five tips:

Earbuds should be avoided

Earbuds have been a mobile device accessory since the early 2000s and are one of the biggest dangers to hearing. Nearly every smartphone available comes with a set of these little devices that fit snugly in your ear and pump sound directly into your ear canal. Listening to a movie or music on your mobile device at maximum volume for just 15 minutes can lead to permanent hearing loss. Over the ear style headphones, particularly the ones with noise canceling technology, would be a better option. No matter what devices you use, you should follow the 60/60 rule – keep the volume at 60% maximum and only use the devices for 60 minutes per day.

Lower the volume

Earbuds don’t generate the only sounds that can harm your hearing. Loud sounds from a radio or TV can do as much harm if you regularly listen to them over a sustained period of time. You’ll also want to steer clear of situations where loud noises are constant, like construction zones, concerts, and shooting ranges. Avoiding these scenarios might only happen in a perfect world, particularly if you’re a construction worker or a musician. The next item on the list will be important if you’re in this situation.

Hearing protection will be helpful

If you have hobbies or work in a noisy environment, it’s crucial that you use hearing protection. 85 decibels over a period of 15 minutes is enough to cause hearing loss. To put that in perspective:

• Over a one hour trip to the indoor gun range, your ears are repeatedly subjected to gunfire that clocks in at over 150 decibels on average.
• The noise of a construction site can be above 130 decibels and many workers spend 40 or more hours every week there
• At the majority of concerts the headlining band plays for up to two hours at well above 120 decibels

If you engage in any of these activities, you need to invest in a good set of earmuffs or earplugs.

Take auditory breaks

Sometimes you just need to give your ears a break. Even if you use ear protection, if you are subjected to loud noises like these for prolonged periods, you should take some quiet breaks to give your ears some time to rest. So after you leave a concert, you probably shouldn’t jump into your car and crank music.

Check your medicine

Your hearing could be significantly impacted by the medication you use. There are some medications that have been proven to trigger hearing loss including some heart and cancer medicines, aspirin, antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory medication. The good news is that medication-associated hearing loss isn’t common and is more likely if you take two or more of those medications together making it easier to prevent.

Looking to find treatment for your hearing loss? Get in touch with 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