Looking Out for Your Hearing Health Is Even Easier Than You Think
If you have hearing loss, you’re not alone. With an estimated 466 million children and adults living with disabling hearing loss, per the World Health Organization, it’s one of the most common chronic physical conditions around the globe.
Though most types of hearing loss cannot be reversed, they can often be successfully managed with today’s innovative technology. And there are empowering ways you can keep your hearing loss from getting worse. Read on for six tips to do just that.
Avoid Noisy Environments
Among the most preventable causes of hearing loss, harmful noise levels can do a number on your ears. And it can worsen with greater noise exposure.
How do you know which noise levels are in the danger zone? You could carry around a decibel meter (or use a decibel meter smartphone app): Any noise or environment reaching 85 decibels or higher means you need to limit your exposure.
But in a pinch, you can keep in mind this handy list of common things and their noise levels, so you can adjust your behavior accordingly. Note: Sounds above 110 dB can damage hearing immediately.
- Vacuum cleaner — 70 dB (safe)
- Blender — 88 dB (possible damage at 4 hr exposure)
- Lawn mower — 90 dB (possible damage from 2 hr exposure)
- Night club — 100 dB (possible damage after 15 minutes)
- Sports stadium, motorcycle — 110 dB (damage likely)
- Concert, chain saw — 120 dB (no unprotected exposure is safe)
- Fireworks, gunfire — 145+ dB (no unprotected exposure is safe)
Hearing damage could be temporary or permanent. When possible, avoiding harmful noise levels altogether is the best bet. If that’s not possible, find ways to take breaks from the noise and, of course, use one or more methods of hearing protection.
Wear Hearing Protection
Of course, avoiding excess noise isn’t always practical — especially if it’s part of your occupation. Whether you’re working around jet engines, calling games amid the whistles and cheers of a packed arena, or operating machinery at a farm, workplaces can be loud. So can many forms of recreation, such as hunting and woodworking. That’s where hearing protection comes in.
Earmuffs
Earmuffs, especially those that include material for sound absorption, encase your outer ear to form a sound-blocking barrier, reducing the decibel levels reaching your ear.
Earplugs
Earplugs fit right in the ear canal, offering more protection from noise than earmuffs. They are also available in a variety of styles.
- Disposable foam earplugs. These are what many people think of as earplugs — foam you roll up and insert in your ear canal. They come in various shapes, can be worn almost anywhere, and get thrown away after one use. Not ideal for the gun range.
- Pre-molded earplugs. Made from semirigid materials such as silicone, rubber, or plastic, pre-molded earplugs have characteristic flanges and are reusable. They’re great for swimming, flying, and loud events.
- Musician’s earplugs. Musician’s earplugs are reusable and reduce sound levels evenly across most frequencies. Musicians can still hear how their voice or instrument blends with the rest of the band, and audiences can hear the music and their friends’ voices.
- Hunter’s earplugs. These earplugs block loud, sudden-onset sounds and amplify quiet sounds, so you can hear rustling twigs, your friends’ whispers, and other subtle sounds key to a satisfying hunting experience.
- Custom earplugs. Created from molds taken of your ear canal and other parts of your outer ear, custom earplugs fit your unique ear shape for even better hearing protection. They’re reusable and easy to clean, plus hunter’s, musician’s, and other earplugs are customizable. We recommend custom protection for even more effectiveness and a secure fit. And for added protection, you may be able to wear headphones over in-the-ear earplugs.
Address Earwax Buildup
Excess cerumen, or earwax buildup, can also be the culprit in worsening hearing loss. Typically, your ears naturally push out excess wax, but sometimes the accumulation can form a blockage.
If this happens, don’t reach for the cotton swabs! Putting objects in your ear canal can push the earwax farther in, which can lead to something even worse — impacted earwax.
To remove an earwax plug, gently soften it with drops of a commercial solution, as long as you don’t have an eardrum perforation.
When in doubt, visit a hearing care professional, who has the tools to carefully and safely remove the earwax blockage.
Beware of Ototoxicity
Some medications can be ototoxic, or damaging to the inner ear, potentially leading to hearing loss or worsening of existing hearing difficulties.
You might be surprised to know that over 200 known prescription and over-the-counter medications on the market today are ototoxic. They include:
- Aspirin
- Loop diuretics such as Lasix
- Aminoglycoside antibiotics such as gentamicin, neomycin, and streptomycin
- Chemotherapy drugs such as cisplatin and carboplatin
- Quinine
Rather than stopping the medication if prescribed, talk to your doctor or another provider about the risks, potential alternatives, and possible ways to mitigate any threats to your hearing.
Think Total Wellness
It’s easy to think of hearing loss as just an isolated challenge, but it can go hand in hand with other conditions, such as heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, dementia, and other health problems.
For example, the link between heart health and hearing health is so strong, one researcher urged that cardiovascular health should be included in each hearing care patient’s health history.
And the link between hearing health and brain health is very strong. In fact, one groundbreaking study found that hearing care incorporating both hearing aids and audiological counseling was associated with a 48% slowdown in cognitive decline in older adults already at increased risk.
Though cause and effect aren’t necessarily conclusive in all cases of hearing loss, staying dedicated to total wellness can potentially go a long way toward helping preserve your current hearing levels.
Lean Into Technology
As mentioned early in this story, today’s exciting, advanced technology plays a big role in successfully managing hearing loss. And using hearing technology helps you preserve the hearing you have.
FM and looping systems
FM systems use the same technology as radio stations to wirelessly send audio to your ears using earphones or, if you wear them, hearing aids. FM systems use a small transmitter and antenna to cover a large area, such as a theater or stadium.
With loop technology, a magnetic field transmits audio wirelessly to your ears. You receive the audio with your hearing aid, which with a built-in T switch can pick up loop signals. You can also use special loop earphones to receive the audio. Auracast™ will be more available for easier access, as is the well-established Bluetooth®.
Hearing aids
These devices don’t cure hearing loss — they amplify the frequencies you don’t hear well, and they amplify them only as much as you need. Speech gets clearer, you hear more environmental sounds, and you have better spatial awareness.
Cochlear implants
If your hearing loss is severe enough, the best option might be a cochlear implant, which has two components. The external piece gathers sound information and transmits it wirelessly to the internal piece, which bypasses the damaged parts of your inner ear and directly stimulates your auditory nerve.
With the help of a licensed hearing care professional and solutions tailored to your needs, you can discover a whole new world of sound.
So don’t wait — take steps to preserve your hearing today. If it’s been a while since your hearing was checked, contact us for an evaluation. We’re committed to helping you hear your best!
The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. The Auracast word mark and logos are trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc.