You’ve most likely already noticed that your hearing is waning. Hearing loss frequently progresses due to decisions you make without realizing they’re impacting your hearing.
Many types of hearing impairment are avoidable with several basic lifestyle changes. What follows are 6 tips that will help you protect your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
It’s not good if your blood pressure remains high. A study revealed that hearing loss was 52% more likely with individuals who have higher than average blood pressure and they are more likely to have other health problems as well.
Prevent damage to your hearing by taking measures to reduce your blood pressure. See a doctor right away and never disregard your high blood pressure. Blood pressure management includes proper diet, exercise, stress management, and following your doctor’s orders.
2. Quit Smoking
Here’s another reason to quit: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. What’s even more surprising is that there’s a 28% higher chance of someone experiencing hearing problems if they are frequently exposed to second-hand smoke. Even if you go away from the room, smoke hangs around for long periods of time with harmful repercussions.
Think about safeguarding your hearing, if you’re a smoker, by quitting. Take measures to minimize your exposure to second-hand smoke if you spend time with a smoker.
3. Keep Your Diabetes in Check
One out of four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. Unless they make some serious lifestyle changes, someone who is pre-diabetic will probably get diabetes within 5 years.
Blood vessels that are injured by high blood sugar don’t efficiently carry nutrients. A diabetic individual is more than two times as likely to experience hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic person.
If you have diabetes, take the steps necessary to properly manage it. Protect your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
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. The chance of getting hearing loss goes up by 17% for a mildly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. A moderately obese person has a 25% risk of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.
Take measures to shed that excess weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be protected by something as basic as walking for 30 minutes every day.
5. Don’t Overuse OTC Medications
Certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can lead to hearing impairment. The more frequently these medications are used over a long period of time, the higher the risk.
Medicines like acetaminophen, naproxen, ibuprofen, and aspirin are known to cause hearing loss. Take these medicines moderately and talk to your doctor if you’re taking them regularly.
If you’re taking the recommended dose for the periodic headache, studies suggest you’ll most likely be okay. The danger of hearing loss goes up to 40% for men, however, when these medications are used on a day-to-day basis.
Your doctor’s orders should always be implemented. But if you’re using these medications each day to control chronic pain or thin your blood, speak with your doctor about lifestyle changes you can make to reduce your dependence on OTC drugs.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is full of nutrients and vitamins including C and K and also has lots of iron. Iron is integral to a healthy heart and proper blood circulation. Oxygen and nutrients are transported to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a major part of this process.
For vegetarians or people who don’t eat much meat, eating a sufficient amount of plant-based iron is important. 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. The researchers found participants with anemia (extreme iron deficiency) were twice as likely to experience sensorineural hearing loss as those without the condition. Sensorineural hearing loss is the scientific term for permanent hearing loss related to the aging process.
Sound is picked up and sent to the brain by fragile little hairs in the inner ear which resonate with the frequency and volume of that sound. If these hair cells die because of poor circulation or other complications arising from iron deficiency, they won’t grow back.
Don’t wait to get a hearing test because you’re never too young. Reduce hearing loss by implementing these simple secrets in your daily life.