You’ve probably already recognized that your hearing is waning. In most cases, we don’t even realize that our decisions are negatively impacting our hearing.
Many kinds of hearing impairment are avoidable with a few simple lifestyle changes. What follows are 6 tips that will help you maintain your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
It’s not okay if your blood pressure stays high. A study determined that individuals with higher than-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to develop hearing loss, not to mention other health concerns.
Take steps to lower your blood pressure and avoid hearing damage. Consult a doctor right away and never dismiss your high blood pressure. Blood pressure management includes proper diet, exercise, stress management, and following your doctor’s advice.
2. Quit Smoking
There are plenty of reasons to quit smoking, here’s another: Smokers are 15% more likely to develop hearing loss. Even more shocking: Individuals who are regularly subjected to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing issues. Even if you leave the room, smoke hangs around for long periods of time with hazardous consequences.
If you’re a smoker, protect your hearing and think about quitting. Take actions to reduce your exposure to second-hand smoke if you hang out around a smoker.
3. Regulate Your Diabetes
Diabetes or pre-diabetes affects one in four adults. A pre-diabetic person is extremely likely to get diabetes within 5 years if they don’t make serious lifestyle changes.
High blood sugar damages blood vessels, which makes it very hard for them to effectively carry nutrients. Compared to someone who doesn’t have diabetes, a diabetic person has more than twice the chance of developing hearing loss.
If you have diabetes, protect your hearing by taking the correct steps to 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. Hearing loss and other health disorders increase as your Body Mass Index (BMI) increases. A slightly obese woman (with a 30 to 34 BMI) has a 17% increased risk of getting hearing loss. A moderately obese individual has a 25% chance of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.
Take measures to lose that extra weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be safeguarded by something as simple as walking for 30 minutes every day.
5. OTC Medications Shouldn’t be Overused
Certain over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can cause hearing loss. The more often these drugs are used over a prolonged period of time, the higher the risk.
Drugs including acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin are known to cause hearing loss. Use these medicines in moderation and only with your doctor’s guidance if you need to take them more frequently.
If you’re using the recommended dose for the periodic headache, studies suggest you’ll probably be okay. Taking them every day, however, raises the chance of hearing loss by as much as 40% for men.
Your doctor’s orders should always be followed. But if you’re using these medicines each day to deal with chronic pain or thin your blood, speak with your doctor about lifestyle changes you can implement to lessen your dependence on OTC drugs.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is high in nutrients and vitamins such as C and K and also has lots of iron. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Iron helps your blood transport oxygen and nutrients to cells to keep them nourished and healthy.
For vegetarians or individuals who don’t eat meat very often, eating a sufficient amount of plant-based iron is important. You’re more likely to be iron deficient because the iron found in plants is less bioavailable than the iron found in meat.
More than 300,000 individuals were studied by Pennsylvania State University. Individuals who have anemia (extreme iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than individuals who have typical iron concentrations. Sensorineural hearing loss is the scientific name for permanent hearing loss related to aging.
Sound is picked up and transmitted to the brain by tiny little hairs in the inner ear which vibrate with the volume and frequency of that sound. If poor circulation or an iron deficiency causes these little hairs to die they will never grow back.
Don’t wait to get a hearing exam because you’re never too young. Prevent hearing loss by applying these simple secrets in your everyday life.