You’ve most likely already recognized that your hearing is failing. Hearing loss typically develops due to decisions you make without recognizing they’re affecting your hearing.
With a few simple lifestyle changes, many kinds of hearing loss can be avoided. What follows are 6 tips that will help you preserve your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
It’s not good if your blood pressure stays high. A study found that hearing loss was 52% more likely with individuals who have above average blood pressure and they’re more likely to have other health issues as well.
Avoid damage to your hearing by taking actions to lower your blood pressure. See a doctor as soon as possible and never disregard your high blood pressure. Blood pressure management includes proper diet, exercise, stress management, and following your doctor’s orders.
2. Stop Smoking
Here’s one more reason to quit: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. Even more alarming: Individuals who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing troubles. The hazardous consequences of second-hand smoke are not only harmful, they also hang in the air for long periods.
Consider protecting your hearing, if you’re a smoker, by quitting. Take steps to reduce your exposure to second-hand smoke if you hang out around a smoker.
3. Keep Your Diabetes in Check
Diabetes or pre-diabetes affects one in four adults. A pre-diabetic individual is highly likely to develop diabetes within 5 years if they don’t make significant lifestyle changes.
Blood vessels that are damaged by high blood sugar don’t effectively carry nutrients. A diabetic person is more than two times as likely to experience hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic individual.
If you suffer from diabetes, take the steps necessary to properly manage it. If you are at risk of getting type 2 diabetes, protect your hearing by making lifestyle changes to prevent it.
4. Lose Some Weight
This isn’t about body image or feeling good about yourself. It’s about your health. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) goes up, so does your possibility of hearing loss and other health problems. A slightly obese woman (with a 30 to 34 BMI) has a 17% higher risk of developing hearing loss. For someone with a BMI of 40 (moderate obesity), the risk increases to 25%.
Take steps to shed that extra weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be protected by something as basic as walking for 30 minutes each day.
5. Don’t Overuse OTC Medications
Hearing loss can be the result of certain over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The more often these drugs are taken over a long period of time, the greater the risk.
Common over-the-counter medicines that affect hearing include aspirin, NSAIDs (like naproxen, ibuprofen), and acetaminophen. Use these medicines in moderation and only with your doctor’s guidance if you need to take them more regularly.
If you’re using the recommended dose for the occasional headache, studies indicate you’ll probably be fine. The risk of hearing loss goes up to 40% for men, however, when these medications are taken on a day-to-day basis.
Your doctor’s orders should always be followed. Your doctor may be able to suggest some lifestyle changes that will reduce your dependence on these medications if you are taking them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is loaded with iron along with essential nutrients including vitamins C and K. Iron is integral to a healthy heart and strong blood circulation. Oxygen and nutrients are carried to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a significant part of this process.
If you’re a vegetarian or eat very little meat, it’s critical that you consume enough plant-based iron. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.
Pennsylvania State University researchers studied more than 300,000 people. People who have anemia (extreme iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than individuals who have normal iron concentrations. Age-related permanent hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.
The inner ear has tiny hair cells that pick up sounds and connect with the brain to transmit the volume and frequency of those sounds. If these hair cells die due to poor circulation or other concerns related to iron deficiency, they never grow back.
Don’t wait to get a hearing exam because you’re never too young. Implement these steps into your life and prevent hearing loss.