Last week, we discussed the different types of hearing loss. Of course, many existing patients may know what causes their hearing loss after meeting with our Orlando ENT Hearing Center specialists, but new patients are strongly encouraged to read further. Take note of the following easy, doable ways to prevent hearing loss.
Avoid loud sounds or wear ear protection to prevent hearing loss:
One of the most common causes of hearing loss is exposure to loud sounds. Avoid excessive noise, if possible. By reducing your exposure to dramatically loud noises, you will drastically reduce your likelihood of hearing loss.
Certain activities are far louder than others. For example, shooting guns, with or without ear protection, can cause hearing loss. Sports such as motocross or riding motorcycles at high speeds may fiercely injure the ear structure.
Have you ever left a concert with ringing in your ears? This is not a healthy sign. Having fun and enjoying loud concerts, especially close to speakers, have been proven to cause hearing loss. Similarly, large sporting events can be just as damaging.
Avoiding such situations at any age can prevent further hearing loss. But more importantly, avoiding these activities or having suitable ear protection as a child is dire for hearing loss prevention. This includes protecting children’s ears at this New Year’s Eve’s fireworks display. Furthermore, pack those folding protective ear muffs for every theme park firework night!
Even your career may contribute to hearing loss. Working with power tools or something more extreme such as working on planes’ jet engines cause hearing loss. Although your training may instruct you to wear ear protection, you may throw it to the side as common knowledge.
How ear protection is an ear’s life saver:
Do not neglect this protocol. Doctors urge patients to protect their ears with proper gear at all times. You may choose to wear either earmuffs or earplugs.
There are tiny hair cells in the inner ear. If most of the hair cells are damaged, a permanent hearing loss will occur. Remember to make hearing loss prevention a discussion in your household. Mowing the lawn is a perfect example of a loud chore that everyone is used to doing, but often, people overlook this routine chore as a threat to their hearing.
The unexpected threats to your ears:
With everyone striving to improve their entertainment, home entertainment systems are booming increasingly impressive. LCD TV’s are paired up with surround sound to make anyone watching feel as if they’re actually in the movie or show.
The surround sound systems can be overly fun and shockingly moving, but be sure to turn down the volume. When watching action movies, dad may turn up the volume to dramatize the intensity of movie night. But really you should keep in mind future potential hearing loss.
The same goes for children toys. The goal of nosies and sounds on children’s show and video games is to entertain and grab attention, but it is crucial to keep in mind the volume of your entertainment, especially when wearing headphones.
Blenders, hair dryers, food processors, vacuum cleaners, and other household appliances need to be monitored. Check that the decibel level to be sure they are not harming to you and others. This “turn down” recommendation applies to personal music players as well. Anytime you put ear phones in that are not noise cancelling, keep in mind you should still hear nosies around you. It should not be loud enough to block out someone speaking within three feet of you.
Ear care:
To prevent hearing loss, doctors recommend not to use Q-tips on children and even adults. Discuss proper ear cleaning routines with your ENT specialists. All in all, don’t stick anything in your ear.
Seeking medical attention for ear infections as promptly as physically possible is truly important. Otitis media is the ear infection of the middle ear and is very common in children but can occur in adulthood too. Also, frequent ear infections lead to hearing loss.
If an ear infection is not treated quickly, damage then causes hearing loss. In order to prevent hearing loss, call your primary care doctor and follow up with your ENT doctors as well to prevent hearing loss.
Thank you for reading this week’s blog. We hope you learned plenty of things to avoid and ways to prevent hearing loss. Next week we will continue on this topic. Have a very Merry Christmas, and be sure to keep the holiday music at a safe level and small objects away from the little one’s ears. Be mindful of pet’s and children’s ear sensitivity as well.
Happy Holidays!
Staff Writer
