Healthy Hearing: 6 Tips to Prevent Hearing Loss

In the United States, approximately 48 million people are suffering from hearing loss of varying degrees.

And the chances are, you are exposed to noises that could damage your hearing more often than you realize. In fact, common sounds in urban life like a subway approaching or a siren passing reach dangerous levels that can damage your hearing.

Here are 6 tips to help you prevent hearing loss

• Stay Away from Loud Noises

The first step in preventing hearing loss is to stay away from loud noises. Some loud noises that have the potential to cause permanent hearing loss are:

• Live music or sporting events
• Power tools
• Sirens
• Nightclubs, fitness classes, or other loud music
• Firearms
• Movie theaters
• Motorcycles

Whenever possible, you should limit exposure to instances like these to protect your hearing.

• Keep the Volume Low

You may not realize how much your day-to-day listening activities are contributing to hearing loss. By keeping the volume low at home, you can improve hearing and minimize damage.

Try listening to music, watching TV, and even speaking with friends and family at a lower volume. You can also avoid crowded restaurants or large gatherings where there might be a lot of noise.

It is especially important to take care to reduce noise exposure at home if you are regularly exposed to loud noises at work.

• Take Breaks

When you are in loud environments, it’s important to take breaks in order to avoid noise-induced hearing loss.

Every 15 minutes, take a break in a quiet location. For 18 hours after a loud event, allow your ears to rest and recover before exposing them to loud noises once more.

• Wear the Proper Protection

When you are going to be around loud noises, you want to make sure that you are wearing proper protection.

Earplugs are a good choice in some scenarios when you want to lessen the noise without preventing you from hearing what’s going on. If you are operating loud tools, earmuffs can lower sounds by up to 30 decibels.

• Quit Smoking

If you are a smoker, you are putting your hearing health at risk. Smokers are up to 60 times more likely than nonsmokers to experience hearing loss.

Unfortunately, you cannot reverse the hearing loss incurred while smoking. But you can prevent further damage by quitting smoking.

• Test Your Hearing Regularly

If you are experiencing hearing loss symptoms, take a quick, easy test to find out if it’s time for you to seek medical help.

On average, people wait 7 years before seeking hearing loss treatment. But, the early you see a medical professional, the better you can minimize damage in the long term.

If you are at elevated risk for hearing loss, you should see an audiologist once a year to test your hearing.

• Prevent Hearing Loss Once and For All

Luckily, you can prevent hearing loss. Using the 6 tips in this guide, you can protect your hearing from everything from live concerts to a loud restaurant.

For more quick tips to help to keep you healthy, check out the latest articles on our site.