Preventing Hearing Loss

The sound of a singing lark, the howl of winds and tap tapping of rain on the roof, the sound of our children’s laughter or our partner’s voice, all of these are precious experiences that can be lost if we lose our hearing.  While age related hearing loss can’t be prevented, circumstantial forms can be mitigated or avoided altogether. Below we’ve put together a list of things that can cause hearing loss and what you can do to avoid them, or to help prevent them from affecting your hearing.

Loud Noises Can Damage Hearing

Loud noise can cause damage to our hearing, which is part of the reason your parents told you to turn your music down as a kid.  As we get older loud noises can be difficult to avoid, especially if we’re exposed to them as part of our hobbies or our work environment.  Good ways to tell if the noise is loud enough to cause harm to your hearing are:

• Speaking Volume: If the environment requires you to speak louder to be heard.

• Problem Hearing: If you can’t hear others speaking over the noise.

• Pain: If the volume is physically painful.

• Tinnitus: If your ears ring or sounds appear muffled after leaving the noise area.

Be Careful When You’re Listening To Music

Remember what we said about the volume of music?  When we’re listening to music we can often damage our hearing by turning the volume up too loud.  Sometimes this is in response to being unable to hear it over outside noises. These steps will help you avoid damaging your ears when listening to music:

• Noise-Canceling Headphones: These headphones help remove interference from outside noises, making it unnecessary to turn up the volume to cover it.

• Moderate Volume: Don’t turn your music up past the volume necessary to hear it properly, excessive volume only damages your ears.

• 60% Is The Max: The majority of electronic devices are automatically set to give you a warning once you exceed 60% of their maximum volume while listening to headphones.  Heed this warning.

• Give Your Ears A Break: Every hour or so you should take out your headphones for at least 5 minutes to help protect your hearing.

Regular Hearing Tests

This is an essential part of maintaining your aural health, and should be part of your yearly preventative care.  Every year when you get your check-up with your physician, be sure to schedule a hearing test as well, this can help identify problems before they become a long-term issue.

If you’re ready to take action to help protect your hearing then make a call to Prime Health Medical Center in Memphis, TN.  Dr. Sam Olu Faleye works closely with patients like you to ensure that their total body health is maintained throughout the length of their lives.  Your hearing provides you with incredible experiences and precious memories, so make sure you protect it by making an appointment today.