There’s an old Benjamin Franklin quote that goes something like this: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” While this rings true for many areas in life, it’s especially accurate when it comes to your health. Learning how to prevent hearing loss is one step YOU can take TODAY to help you live well for longer.
But, what exactly does that entail? Does it involve taking medications? Having to always wear ear plugs or other hearing protection? Never listening to music or attending a fireworks show? Not necessarily, but there are several lifestyle changes you can make that will make it easier to prevent hearing loss now and in the future. In fact, Healthy Hearing offers these 7 lifestyle tips to help you enjoy your natural hearing for longer …
7 Ways to Prevent Hearing Loss
Of course, not every case of hearing loss can be prevented entirely, but here’s what you can do to help:
- Pay attention to your cardiovascular health. Your hearing depends on delicate ear parts being able to work well. Heart issues, like high blood pressure, can cause vascular damage and lead to hearing loss.
- Say ‘no’ to smoking and excessive drinking. Research has shown that both smoking and alcohol can have negative effects on hearing.
- Manage your diabetes. Research has confirmed that diabetics are more likely to have hearing loss. Work with your primary care doctor to keep your blood sugar under control!
- Reduce stress and exercise more. These might not seem like the most obvious ways to prevent hearing loss, but they can help! Exercising improves blood flow and stress reduction improves overall health, both contributing to better hearing.
- Eat a healthy diet. There’s actually some truth to the old saying, “you are what you eat.” Healthy hearing can be linked to appropriate levels of B12, potassium, magnesium, and iron – all things you can get in a healthy diet
- Learn your family’s health history. This one doesn’t exactly help you prevent hearing loss, but it can help you recognize it early and prevent some of its negative effects. After all, early diagnosis and treatment goes a long way toward protecting your quality of life.
- Stay away from drugs that cause hearing loss. Unfortunately, some medications that are helpful for treating other health conditions are oto-toxic. That means they’re harmful to the ears and can affect hearing. Prevent hearing loss by being aware of these drugs and asking for an alternative medication when necessary.
Hearing Loss Prevention Starts With YOU!
Another great way to prevent hearing loss is to use hearing protection, even at a young age. That could mean wearing specialized headphones during recreational activities such as hunting, or using custom ear plugs at work.
The bottom line is … you do have a lot of control over your hearing health.
While you may not be able to prevent hearing loss in every form, you can certainly reduce your risk for noise-induced hearing loss. And, following the lifestyle tips above can start you on the right road to healthy hearing for life.
Schedule an appointment with one of our audiologists today for a full hearing evaluation. When you know your base hearing level, it’ll be much easier to detect hearing changes down the road and set you up for early diagnosis and treatment if necessary.
Here’s to healthy hearing and a life free from hearing loss!
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