Hearing ability is a precious gift that enriches us and helps us connect to the world. Unfortunately, due to hectic lifestyles and impractical choices, hearing loss has become increasingly common, affecting all ages.
But the good news is that many of these cases of hearing loss are preventable. By practicing healthy choices and taking proactive steps, you can safeguard your hearing health for ages to come.
What Is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss refers to a reduced or diminished ability to pick up on sounds or even understand them. Its severity can range from minor to extreme, depending on the underlying reasons.
This includes ear infections, prolonged exposure to loud sounds, hereditary predisposition, head injury, side effects of a medicine, and aging.
The key to preventing or slowing hearing loss is to understand what is “loud” and to limit exposure. Understand that the louder the volume, the less time you can listen to it before it harms your hearing.
Why Is Hearing Loss Affecting People at Younger Ages?
There are myriad reasons why hearing loss appears to affect people now at earlier ages.
Loud environments and prolonged exposure to extreme volumes, such as recreational activities, concerts, and the constant use of personal audio devices at high volumes, are contributing significantly to hearing damage among young people.
With headphones becoming an everyday staple, constant exposure to loud music is slowly affecting people’s hearing. Add in how some occupations (construction sites, manufacturing facilities, aviation, transportation, and entertainment) regularly expose people to high levels of noise, and young people are more likely than ever to experience hearing loss.
Some medical conditions, such as genetic disorders, infections, and autoimmune diseases, can also lead to hearing loss, especially in younger individuals.
Genetic predisposition can make individuals more prone to hearing issues.
Thanks to cutting-edge diagnostic tools, more and more people are now aware of the importance of hearing health.
This includes improved identification and early detection of hearing loss. You can schedule a free comprehensive hearing exam at Hearing Health Center today.
What Are The Early Signs of Hearing Loss?
It is essential to note the early signs, although they vary by individual or specific type of hearing loss.
If you notice any of these signs or have concerns, connect with the Hearing Health Center team to avoid more serious, long-term damage.
Difficulty Deciphering Conversations
One of the early signs of hearing loss is trouble following conversations, especially in noisy environments.
You may find it challenging to understand what others are saying, leading to repeated questions or requests for clarification.
Increasing Volume
Turning the volume up or asking others to repeat themselves if you find it too loud or extremely loud indicates the onset of hearing loss.
Gradually increasing the volume is a major early sign that most people do not recognize.
Withdrawal from Social Events
Individuals with hearing loss often withdraw from social gatherings or group conversations.
This is the result of difficulties understanding conversations, which then leads to feeling frustrated, embarrassed, and even isolated.
Eventually, individuals will avoid situations that demand extensive communication.
Tinnitus
The perception of ringing, buzzing, or other ghost sounds in the ears is associated with hearing loss.
If you often experience tinnitus, especially with other symptoms such as difficulty hearing, it is advised to have your hearing checked.
6 Ways To Protect Yourself From Hearing Loss
1. Protect Your Ears Against Noise
Wear earplugs or muffs to reduce the impact of excessive sound at concerts or sporting events.
When at home, keep the volume at a normal level, especially when listening to music or watching TV, and use headphones.
2. Take Breaks from Noise
Taking regular breaks from noise is advised, especially in loud environments or when wearing headphones.
If you work at a loud site or in a noisy setting, take proper breaks in quieter areas to allow your ears to recover.
3. Be Cautious with Headphones
While earbuds and headphones entertain with convenience, don’t forget that they can be harmful, especially when misused.
Limit your use of headphones or earbuds, and when you do use them, keep the volume at a reasonable level.
Consider using noise-canceling headphones, which block external noise, so you can enjoy music without turning up the volume.
4. Follow a Healthy Lifestyle
Lifestyle factors influence your hearing health.
Avoid smoking; it can contribute to hearing loss. Manage chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes – they affect your auditory system.
Stay physically active and practice a balanced diet to promote overall well-being, including your ears’ health.
5. Be Cautious with Medicines
Certain medications, also known as ototoxic drugs, damage your hearing.
This means if you are prescribed medication, consult your healthcare professionals about potential side effects on your hearing.
Be vigilant and report any effects or changes in your hearing during or post medication.
6. Schedule Regular Hearing Tests
Like any other routine medical check-up, regular hearing evaluations play a key role in detecting potential hearing loss early.
Schedule an appointment with a trusted audiologist or hearing healthcare expert to monitor your hearing health and address your concerns.
Ready To Protect Your Hearing? Schedule Your Free Hearing Exam Today.
Hearing loss can happen at any age and for many reasons, but fear not.
You can avoid noise-related hearing loss by getting annual hearing health testing, avoiding ear-damaging loud sounds, wearing ear protection muffs around loud noises, and practicing safe headphone usage.
Schedule your free hearing health exam at Hearing Health Center today.
Hearing loss costs a lot more than just your hearing. Every single day, patients walk into our practice not realizing how much they’ve lost financially, physically, and emotionally due to ignored hearing healthcare.
To help patients better understand what untreated hearing loss costs them, we put together this guide that explains how hearing loss impacts every single aspect of your life.
If you’ve ignored your hearing health, or want a check up, schedule a free comprehensive hearing exam with Hearing Health Center today.
How Common is Hearing Loss?
Hearing loss is remarkably common amongst adults. Approximately 15% of adults aged 18 and over in the United States report some hearing difficulty. That’s a little over 37 million people.
Age is the strongest predictor of hearing loss, with the highest percentage occurring between the ages of 60 and 69. Another key factor in hearing loss is exposure to loud workplace noise. 18% of adults have hearing loss at speech frequencies in both ears if they report loud workplace noise, while only 5% have hearing loss if they don’t.
Tinnitus is a concern as well. Around 10% of the adult population in the United States has experienced tinnitus, rising to 14% when worldwide totals are included.
One of the trickiest parts of dealing with hearing loss is that it’s often gradual. That means over time, you slowly lose your hearing until one day, poof, you recognize you can’t hear as well as you once did. Subconsciously, your brain might do more lip-reading, or strain so you don’t have as much of an idea how much you’re being affected until it’s too late.
Some physicians do not routinely perform hearing exams during physicals, which means gradual hearing loss could be occurring without you even realizing it.
The best and most effective way to gain a better understanding of your hearing health is to schedule an exam with a trained audiologist. At Hearing Health Center, our team performs a comprehensive hearing exam that gives you a clearer picture of your hearing health and the steps you can take to prevent hearing loss and reduce long-term costs.
The Monetary Costs of Hearing Loss
The 83% of people on Earth suffering from untreated hearing loss account for costs of nearly $980 billion per year. That total is around 6 % of GDP per capita.
According to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, “older adults with untreated hearing loss generated an average of 46 percent more in total health care costs over 10 years versus those who don’t have hearing loss.” In dollars, that’s a little over $22,000 over 10 years.
Broken down further, people with hearing loss incurred nearly 26 percent more total health care costs over two years than those treated.
But what is most costly is the hospital stay data. After 10 years, patients with untreated hearing loss were hospitalized 50% more often; 44% of those people were at higher risk of hospital readmission within 30 days, and had about 52 more outpatient visits than those without hearing loss.
Another study calculated the extent to which untreated hearing loss affected household income. They found that people with the highest level of hearing loss earned $12,000 less per year than those with minimal to no hearing loss.
Simply put, the data shows that untreated hearing loss means you’ll earn less and spend more on healthcare costs in the future.
Don’t let untreated hearing loss cost you your hard-earned money; schedule your hearing exam today.
The Health Costs of Hearing Loss
The most obvious cost of hearing loss is, of course, the inability to hear. But what most patients do not realize is that their hearing health affects the entire body, including brain function, balance, and overall well-being.
When someone loses their hearing, they become much more at risk of dementia. A 2020 report lists hearing loss as one of the significant contributors to dementia, as hearing loss requires your brain to work extra hard to understand and fill in missing gaps.
The more your brain works on these tasks, the more energy is taken away from thinking memory systems. Another possibility is that hearing loss causes an aging brain to shrink faster, thus leading to dementia.
As of today, hearing loss is attributed to around 8% of all new dementia cases, or around 800,000 every year.
Another danger of hearing loss is its effect on someone’s balance. The vestibular system in your ear helps detect the head’s positioning and the space around you. Hearing loss can negatively affect these neurons and sensors, thereby increasing the risk of falling.
There are two additional factors to consider.
The first is that auditory input is lowered with hearing loss, which then affects the brain’s ability to understand spatial information. Without being able to comprehend the area around you fully, you end up more likely to slip or fall.
Another aspect to consider is that, because your brain is working harder to understand sounds, it leaves less space to understand your surroundings. Your brain is focusing too much on one thing, leaving you more likely to ignore the space around you.
Your hearing health is more than just that: proactive action to protect yourself can help prevent serious, long-term issues.
The Social and Emotional Costs of Hearing Loss
Loss of hearing comes at a price for your mental health as well. Nearly 33% of adults 70 or older suffer from hearing loss that impacts their daily communication, which, as a result, leads to further isolation.
This isolation then leads to depression and an overall decrease in your well-being.
People who are hard of hearing become embarrassed by constantly asking others to repeat themselves, or frustrated when talking with family members, when they can’t understand them. Studies have shown that once these incidents occur frequently, people isolate themselves, leading to less-happy lives and even shorter lifespans.
There’s also the lesser-known effect of hearing loss: missing nuance in meetings and how that impacts work promotions.
Between isolation and the negative emotional impacts, it’s an easy solution to start focusing on your hearing health as soon as possible.
How Can Early Treatment of Hearing Loss Help You?
Early interventions for hearing loss limit many of the short- and long-term negative health and financial effects that cost people thousands of dollars each year.
Financially, you are not only more likely to make money with early hearing loss interventions, but you’re also less likely to spend money on hospital visits due to injuries sustained as a result.
There’s also the financial savings that come with being less likely to fall and injure yourself, and lowering the risk of dementia or other brain-related diseases.
Hearing aids are statistically more likely to lessen the likelihood of social isolation, thus reducing the chances of dementia. While treatment has not been proven to to prevent dementia, early research is promising.
Early interventions and treatment give people back the life they deserve, so don’t wait any longer and get your hearing checked today.
Need a Hearing Test? Contact Hearing Health Center Today!
Struggling with your hearing lately? Want to get checked early before something goes wrong?
Call Hearing Health Center today and schedule a free comprehensive hearing exam to get you started on your hearing health journey.
Don’t let hearing loss cost you your life, schedule your appointment today.
It’s time to review your benefits and coverage as the end of the year approaches. Maximizing your tax-free dollars and planning for the new year is a smart move.
However, with FSAs, HSAs, and health insurance, the situation becomes confusing quickly. This brief guide helps explain the various health spending accounts and what you can expect in terms of hearing health.
If you have any questions whatsoever, don’t hesitate to reach out to Hearing Health Center, and a member of our staff can help you navigate your hearing benefits.
Flex Spending Accounts for Hearing
There are only a few days left before you lose out on any leftover money in your Flex Spending Accounts (FSA).
One of the key differences between FSAs and HSAs is that any money left over in the former goes away once January 1st rolls around.
Now, of course, that comes with an asterisk. For 2025 going into 2026, you are allowed to carry over a maximum of $660 in your FSA, but your employer is not required to include this benefit for their accounts. It’s best to check with them to understand your specific policy.
But even with that, expect any remaining tax-free money in your FSA to disappear at the end of the year.
Your FSA funds can be used towards:
- Hearing exams and evaluations
- Hearing aids (both prescription and over-the-counter models)
- Hearing aid fittings and adjustments
- Hearing aid batteries and supplies
- Repairs and maintenance for hearing aids
So, if you have been missing parts of the conversations, struggling to hear the punchline of the joke, or frequently asking your boss to repeat what they said, an investment in your hearing health might be the smartest decision you make this year.
Health Savings Accounts for Hearing
The good news for people with Health Savings Accounts (HSA) is that any money you have left over rolls over to the following year.
While HSAs are typically only available to folks with a high-deductible health plan, individuals can contribute $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage.
If you are 55 and over, you can also contribute an additional $1,000.
Due to the carryover and high contribution limits, taking care of your hearing health with HSA funds makes sense.
You can use your HSA to pay for:
- Comprehensive hearing exams or audiological evaluations
- Prescription hearing aids (all models and brands)
- Over-the-counter hearing aids (now allowed under the 2022 FDA rule)
- Hearing aid fittings and adjustments
- Hearing aid batteries and replacement parts
- Hearing aid repairs and maintenance
Spending time communicating, sharing, and laughing with your wife, kids, and friends is the most important part of your life.
It may be time to heed their advice and have your hearing checked.
Insurance Benefits for Hearing
When it comes to health insurance and your hearing health, the answer to ‘what are the benefits’ really depends on your plan.
Just like with dental and vision, most health insurance plans do not typically cover hearing treatment or hearing aids.
However, hearing problems are on the rise and occurring much earlier in life. The majority of individuals with difficulty hearing and communicating are under the age of 65.
Some insurance plans are beginning to offer partial or complete coverage for hearing aids, fittings, and exams, but this coverage varies depending on your individual circumstances.
Our lobbying efforts with health insurance companies are leading to a change in hearing benefits. Let us help you check your plan and coverage. You might be pleasantly surprised.
We can help you maximize the benefits of your insurance coverage.
Need Help with Your Hearing Health? Call Hearing Health Center Today.
Communication is a cognitive function. Cognitive functioning, along with memory and balance, deteriorates rapidly when your brain doesn’t get the right amount of sound, can’t process the sound, and can’t interpret the sound it receives.
Even if you do not have flex or health savings accounts and your insurance does not include hearing benefits, do not ignore symptoms or suspicion of a hearing problem.
A hearing problem is ultimately an indication of a serious cognitive problem. Call Hearing Health Center or schedule an appointment online today.
The following article from the Chicago Tribune tells how hearing loss can create life-altering anguish for aging parents and their extended families, most of which can be avoided or greatly diminished by testing and treatment.
Louise Andrew: I watched male loved ones deny their hearing loss. Left untreated, it devastated their lives.
Purging closets bursting with hideous ties reminded me of how difficult it is to “gift” a father with something of value on Father’s Day.
I had a very close relationship with my father and both grandfathers, who supported and protected me always. Fatherly and grandfatherly support is a profound gift for any daughter or granddaughter. I am eternally grateful for these mentors and wish their loving influence had persisted longer.
All my fathers had excellent longevity. But what could have helped them to live even longer, more engaged and fuller lives? Here is what I wish I had given them: Release from the need to appear to be consistently strong, self-sufficient and invincible. The ability to acknowledge and adapt to advancing age and associated infirmities and the courage to admit the inability to solve every problem alone. I wish I could have gifted them the willingness to seek and use help when indicated. To release them from a belief that seeking help means you are “less of a …,” whatever it is, that you feel you must always and consistently be, as a father and as a man.
The gift I would bestow on all fathers is the courage to address the curse that took the intellect of my father, one grandfather and my father-in-law: age-related hearing loss, also known as ARHL. Not being able to hear or properly process information made these men first defensive, then blameful, isolated and in denial. Eventually it rendered them less companionable and less interesting to people around them, ignored and, ultimately, avoided by those who might have helped them prevent the dementia that resulted from ARHL.
More than 460 million people worldwide suffer from disabling hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization. In the U.S., hearing loss affects one-third of those 65 to 74 years old and nearly half of those older than 75, the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders reports. ARHL is the most common remediable cause of cognitive impairment, falls and depression. Johns Hopkins researchers found up to a fivefold increased risk in older adults of developing cognitive impairment, including dementia, when significant hearing impairment remains unaddressed.
Although I owe all of my education to my financially astute grandfather, his stubborn refusal to address hearing loss ultimately led to social isolation. As fresh memories faded, repetition of the same stories made him less engaging and, ultimately to some, the object of derision. The exact same denial in my once-gregarious father led to ostracism in his retirement community, contributing to his death by a stroke after multiple falls. My even more sociable father-in-law developed a form of dementia that was completely surgically curable, but the hearing loss he refused to address made him so uninteresting to be around that no one realized what was happening until it was too late for surgery.
By contrast, my physician grandfather, who used hearing aids, practiced medicine until he died at 81.
If you have ARHL, you may be thinking, “If everyone would just come closer, put down their gadgets, look directly at me, stop mumbling and enunciate more clearly, there would be no problem.” Right?
Wrong. Incoming students in an audiology program were required to wear earplugs for their first three days. That first day, they could ask people to repeat what they had said. By the second, students noticed their interactions became shorter and terser. By the third, people actively began to avoid them. These “hearing impaired” students were essentially being isolated. This same sequence occurs even in close and long-term relationships, albeit more gradually.
If you are beginning to experience hearing loss, your loved ones are sympathetic and supportive at first. ARHL is a disability, and it’s probably not your fault. But as it becomes more difficult to make ourselves understood, we are less likely (when communication is not truly essential) to make an effort. If we’ve brought the hearing issue up many times before, and you do not respond, you begin to seem more stubborn than fragile. ARHL is easily addressed, and yet, to a loved one, your denial of it feels as if you don’t care about your own well-being, the health of our relationship or the happiness or even safety of those who love and may depend on you.
If your father is one of the 500 million worldwide with hearing loss, try this gift: Remind him that you love him dearly and want him as a trusted adviser for as long as humanly possible. Urge him to have his hearing tested and to get hearing aids if indicated. These devices are both effective and almost invisible, and effective alternatives are also available over-the-counter.
The author, Louise Andrew, is a physician attorney, and disability rights advocate.
Consider making a free hearing ability test for your loved one.
You get out of the shower or start getting ready for the day, and you see a Q-tip on your counter. Next thing you know, it’s swirling around in your ear, only to make things muffled or hard to hear.
It’s pretty standard for patients to think they can clean their own ears, but unfortunately, it often leads to a pretty bad experience.
Let’s take a look at some of the most common earwax cleaning myths and why you should work with an audiologist the next time you think you might have too much earwax.
Why Do I Have Earwax?
EWWW…EARWAX! DISGUSTING!
Why is everyone so grossed out by earwax?
Well, for one, it looks gross. It’s brown, greenish, gunky and sometimes gooey and sticky. Just seeing it can make you feel unclean and in need of hygiene.
But get over it! Everyone has earwax.
And, it’s a good thing you do, or you’d be in a lot of trouble.
There’s a reason you have earwax. It creates a waterproof lining in your ears that keeps them dry, which prevents germs and bacteria from causing constant infections.
Earwax traps dirt and dust, and little pieces of cotton (from those nasty Q-tips), and all the stuff that gets stuck in the hairspray you accidentally sprayed in your ears.
Wax keeps your ears lubricated and repels fungi, insects, and water.
Earwax has a purpose. It protects your ears.
Are There Different Kinds of Earwax?
Having too little earwax or over-cleaning your ears can cause dry, flaky, and itching ears and trigger infections.
Some wax is dry and flaky, and some wax is gooey and sticky. What kind you have is basically genetic. In general, Asians have dry earwax while European and African populations produce “wet” earwax.
Should I Clean My Own Ears?
GET THAT Q-TIP, BOBBY PIN, PEN KNIFE, SAMURAI SWORD OUT OF YOUR EAR!
Most ears are self-cleaning. Every time you chew or talk, the movement of your jaw causes the dusty, germ-laden wax to be pushed toward the opening of your ear, where it usually flakes and falls out. Meanwhile, the glands in your ear canals are producing new, protective, fresh wax.
When you stick objects in your ear, you’re really not helping. You’re pushing all the wax deeper into the canal and causing it to keep building up. Then the wax gets impacted.
- You get hearing loss
- You get an earache
- You get tinnitus (ringing in your ear)
- Your ears itch
- Your ears smell bad
- You puncture your eardrum
5 Things That Can Cause Excessive Earwax Build-Up
There are five main reasons why you might have excessive earwax. Some of these are things you can control, whereas others are just part of our genetics.
- The number one cause of excessive wax buildup is self-cleaning attempts.
- Genetics – some people just produce too much. It runs in the family
- Headphones*
- Hearing aids*
- Age – the ears produce less moisture, and the ear canals can narrow, causing the dry wax to get stuck.
*Your ears need to breathe and get air. Wearing headphones and using hearing aids can block the ears from performing their natural self-processing.
Common Earwax Cleaning Myths
We get patients every day who tell us about something they’ve heard online, or from a friend about cleaning their ears. Next thing you know, they tried something, and it made everything worse.
Here are some of the most common earwax cleaning myths we’ve heard:
Myth: Ear candling is a safe and effective way to remove earwax and toxins.
Ear candling, or ear coning, involves placing a lit, hollow candle into the ear canal, with the belief that it creates suction to draw out earwax and impurities.
Medical experts and scientific studies have consistently debunked this practice as both ineffective and highly dangerous.
It does not remove earwax; instead, it can lead to severe burns, introduce candle wax into the ear canal, cause ear infections, or even puncture the eardrum.
The residue found in candles after use is typically just candle wax and soot, not earwax.
Myth: You should clean your ears daily to maintain good hygiene.
While it’s important to keep the outer ear clean, the inner ear canal is remarkably self-cleaning.
Your ears are designed with a natural “conveyor belt” system, where old earwax is gradually moved out of the ear canal through jaw movements (like chewing and talking).
Attempting to clean your ears daily, especially by inserting objects, can disrupt this natural process, push wax deeper, and cause more problems than it solves.
For most people, simply wiping the outer ear with a damp cloth is sufficient.
Myth/Fact: Over-the-counter ear drops are a universal solution for all earwax problems.
Ear drops can help soften earwax, which can aid in its natural expulsion or make professional removal easier.
Many over-the-counter drops contain ingredients like hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide that work to break down earwax.
However, they are not a universal solution.
Ear drops should be used with caution and often under the guidance of a healthcare professional, especially if you suspect you have a perforated eardrum, an ear infection, or ear tubes.
For significant or impacted earwax, drops alone are usually not enough, and professional removal by an audiologist or doctor remains the safest and most effective method.
Cleaning Your Ears Isn’t a DIY Project. Call Hearing Health Center Today to Get Your Ears Cleaned Today.
Cleaning your ears isn’t a do-it-yourself project. Even if you use an over-the-counter remedy, how do you know if it worked? You can’t see what you’re doing in there.
If you think you have earwax buildup, do NOT try to fix it yourself. Your audiologist or doctor can remove it quickly, easily, comfortably, and professionally.
Schedule an appointment with one of our audiologists at Hearing Health Center for a comprehensive hearing exam and be on your way to better hearing.
Is it the laser, or is it the Ophthalmologist that saved your vision?
Is it the artificial heart, or is it the surgeon that saved your life?
All hearing aids are a piece of plastic. Granted, some pieces of plastic are more expensive than others depending on the electronic components and computerized technology inside the plastic. But essentially, hearing aids are plastic devices.
So, is it the piece of plastic, or is it the provider you see that’s behind successful use and adaptation to hearing aids?
Purchasing hearing aids online and at retail establishments might be tempting to save money, but they lack the critical elements for successful hearing aid use and satisfaction:
- Lack of professional evaluation may not accurately reflect your true hearing ability and may miss a medical or surgical problem.
- Without professional and personalized fitting, the hearing aids may not sit correctly in your ears causing pain, discomfort, and slippage.
- Inadequate programming can lead to over or under amplification.
- You may be on your own for troubleshooting issues or adjustments.
- Lack of regular maintenance can cause more breakdowns and repairs.
While online and retail purchased hearing aids might offer a lower upfront cost, the potential for poor fit, improper programming, and lack of support and ongoing care can render the hearing aids ineffective. You’ve wasted your money.
In a recent study by the National Institutes of Health, the number one reason for success and satisfaction with hearing aids is the hearing care provider.
Hearing aids are medical devices regulated by the FDA and are only available through licensed hearing care providers.
Hearing care providers, specifically doctors of audiology, are exceptionally trained and educated to diagnose the cause of hearing and balance problems, including tumors, growths, and infections. If the problem is not medically or surgically treatable, doctors of audiology have a comprehensive understanding of the software and algorithms of the different hearing aid manufacturers.
You are unique. Your brain, lifestyle, needs, and sound preferences are different from your best friend or neighbor. Audiologists assess all the above before determining which hearing aids would be best for you.
The fitting, programming and adjustments of the hearing aids are personalized for your brain’s processing ability and your listening preferences to ensure optimal performance and comfort.
Ongoing support and continuity of care are essential for optimal results and long-term hearing health. Hearing aids are not a one-shot deal. They are a lifetime _. Just like teeth, hearing aids need regular checkups and maintenance. Just like your vital statistics, your prescription can change. Yearly hearing evaluations are crucial so adjustments can be made to accommodate any changes to your hearing and brain processing ability.
Bottom line: See an audiologist for the best outcome and satisfaction with your hearing aids.
Don’t let ear pain or hearing loss bring you down this summer. Concerts, yard equipment, and swimming all have the potential for life-changing hearing loss if you don’t take the proper precautions ahead of time.
That’s why we believe that enjoying the sounds of summer shouldn’t come at the cost of your long-term hearing well-being. That’s why we’ve put together this guide on five essential ways to protect your sense of hearing throughout the sunny months.
5 Ways to Protect Your Hearing Health This Summer
If you plan to enjoy your summer thoroughly, consider these tips when protecting your hearing health.
1. Be Smart about Loud Noises at Summer Events
Summer is synonymous with outdoor concerts, festivals, and fireworks displays.
While enjoyable, these events often involve prolonged exposure to high decibel levels.
According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), prolonged exposure to noise above 85 decibels can cause permanent hearing loss.
To put this into perspective, concerts can reach 100-110 decibels, with fireworks peaking at nearly 150 decibels.
How to Protect Your Hearing:
Earplugs are the best protection against hearing loss in the summer. While not trendy, they do wonders for protecting the long-term health of your hearing.
Opt for high-fidelity earplugs designed for music, which reduce the volume evenly across frequencies, preserving the sound quality while lowering the intensity.
You can get away with foam earplugs, but they might muffle sounds more.
Also, keep a safe distance from loud noises. That means avoiding being right in front of the speakers or the fireworks’ launch area.
You might even want to take listening breaks. Find a quieter area to allow your ears to recover from the loud noises.
2. Guard Your Ears During Water Activities
While swimming and boating are quintessential summer pastimes, they can also lead to hearing damage if not taken seriously.
Water introduces moisture and other irritants into your ear canals, leading to swimmers’ ear. Symptoms of swimmer’s ear include pain, hearing loss, and more.
How to Protect Your Hearing:
Did you know they make swimming earplugs?
Custom-molded or over-the-counter swim earplugs can create a watertight seal, preventing water from entering the ear canal.
Get a pair if you’re prone to ear infections or spend much time in the water during the summer. Your hearing health will be much happier for it.
When you’re done in the water, dry your ears.
After swimming, gently tilt your head to each side to allow water to drain out.
You can also use a soft towel to pat your outer ear dry. Avoid inserting cotton swabs deep into the ear canal, as this can push debris further in and potentially damage the eardrum.
3. Protect Your Ears from Extreme Heat and Sun
Extreme heat does not directly cause hearing loss; other heat-related illnesses could lead to hearing loss.
For example, sun exposure causes dehydration, affecting the inner ear’s fluids. Heatstroke may also decrease blood circulation to the ears.
These conditions might not directly relate to hearing loss, but protecting yourself limits the chances of something unfortunate.
How to Protect Your Hearing:
This advice is just helpful in general: stay hydrated. The last thing you want ruining your summer is a case of dehydration or heatstroke.
Proper hydration supports all bodily functions, including those of the inner ear.
4. Be Mindful of Loud Yard Work and Power Tools
Yard work can be loud, especially if you’re mowing the lawn, using leaf blowers, and operating power tools.
Lawn mowers, for example, can produce noise levels between 90 and 105 decibels, while leaf blowers can reach up to 110 decibels.
Even just a few minutes exposed to this high-level noise could cause hearing health damage in the short and long term.
How to Protect Your Hearing:
We suggest investing in a good pair of earmuffs or industrial-grade earplugs designed to reduce noise from power tools.
You want a snug fit while providing substantial noise reduction.
It also doesn’t hurt to break up your yard work into shorter sessions to reduce the overall duration of noise exposure.
5. Pay Attention to Ear Discomfort or Changes in Hearing
This summer, don’t ignore minor ear discomfort or temporary changes in hearing.
Many exciting events might come your way this summer, but ignoring persistent pain, pressure, drainage, or a sudden change in your hearing could lead to more serious issues if left untreated.
Call Hearing Health Center immediately to schedule an appointment if your hearing or pain changes.
What to Do:
If you experience persistent ear pain, drainage, sudden hearing loss, or tinnitus that doesn’t subside, consult a hearing healthcare professional immediately. Early diagnosis and treatment often prevent long-term complications.
Also, don’t try to self-diagnose or treat ear problems with over-the-counter remedies without consulting a professional, especially if symptoms are severe or persistent.
Struggling with Ear Pain? Having Trouble Hearing?
At Hearing Health Center, our team is ready to help you with any ear problems you might be experiencing. Our team of expert audiologists can help you with temporary hearing loss, hearing aid fittings, and so much more.
Call us today or book an appointment online to get your hearing health where it needs to be this summer.
This is the rallying cry from baby boomers all over the country that ruined their hearing going to concerts and listening to loud music.
Millions of baby boomers are experiencing the foibles of their youth and suffering the consequences.
“My average patient used to be in their late seventies,” said Dr. Ronna Fisher, AuD. Of Hearing Health Center. “Today my average patient is in their early sixties.” Fifty percent of people over the age of sixty have a significant hearing deficit that interferes with their everyday life.
Yet, at the same time, some of these baby boomers still perceive hearing problems as an old person’s issue. “They still think, “hearing = old,” and refuse to recognize and admit they have difficulty hearing and understanding,” said Dr. Fisher.
“Hearing loss runs in my family,” proclaimed Dr. Fisher, who has been wearing hearing aids since she was fifty. “At first, I used to think, ‘I’m too young to wear hearing aids. Then I realized, I’m too young not to wear hearing aids.”
Baby boomers are all about living longer, being more active and communicating their vast knowledge…to their employees, to their children, and anyone else willing to listen to their wisdom.
Astute baby boomers understand that communicating is a two-way street. making the rest of their lives the best of their lives. And they’re realizing that it’s all about communicating.
Age doesn’t matter. Book a FREE hearing test today.
Hearing ability is a precious gift that enriches us and helps us connect to the world. Unfortunately, due to hectic lifestyles and impractical choices, hearing loss has become increasingly common – affecting all ages. But the good news is that many of these hearing loss cases are preventable. By practicing healthy choices and taking proactive steps, you can safeguard your hearing health for ages to come.
Hearing loss is still the most common chronic health issue across the United States; it reduces your ability to decipher speech and sounds around you. Those who work in noisy environments, especially at construction sites, factories, or as road crews, may lose their hearing sooner than others due to constant noise without proper protection. Those who listen to loud music with headphones, attend open-air music festivals, frequent nightclubs or play games with constant loud noises in their ears – all get highly affected. The key to preventing or slowing down hearing loss is to understand what is “loud” and limit the exposure. Understand that the louder the volume, the less time you can listen to it before it impacts your hearing ability.
WHAT IS HEARING LOSS?
Hearing loss refers to a reduced or diminished ability to pick up on sounds or even understand them. Its severity can range from minor to extreme, depending on the underlying reasons – this includes ear infections, prolonged exposure to loud sounds, hereditary predisposition, head injury, side effects of a medicine, and aging.
WHAT ARE THE EARLY SIGNS OF HEARING LOSS?
It is important to note early signs, although they vary depending on the individual or specific type of hearing loss. Read on, and if you notice any of these signs or have concerns, connect with our hearing healthcare professionals to treat during the initial stage:
Difficulty Deciphering Conversations: One of the early signs of hearing loss is experiencing trouble or struggling to follow conversations, especially when in noisy environments. You may find comprehending what others are saying challenging, leading to repetitive questions or clarification.
Increasing Volume: Turning the volume up or if you find asking others to repeat themselves; a volume that others find too or extremely loud, indicates the onset of hearing loss. Gradually raising the volume over time is a major early sign.
Withdrawal from Social Events: Individuals experiencing hearing loss find themselves withdrawing from social gatherings or group conversations. Difficulty deciphering speech leads to feeling frustrated, embarrassed, and even isolated. This causes individuals to avoid situations that demand extensive communication.
Tinnitus: The perception of ringing, buzzing, or other ghost sounds in the ears, all are associated with hearing loss. If you often experience tinnitus, especially with other signs such as difficulty hearing, it is advised to check your hearing.
Misunderstanding: Another early sign of hearing loss is often misinterpreting or misunderstanding spoken words. You may find that certain sounds or speech patterns are muffled or unclear, leading to confusion as well as miscommunication.
WHY IS HEARING LOSS NOWADAYS AFFECTING PEOPLE AT EARLY AGE?
There are myriad reasons why hearing loss appears to affect people now at earlier ages. Before we discuss it any further, it is important to note that not everyone experiences hearing loss at a younger age. Listed below are some factors that contribute to the perception:
- Exposure to Noise: The ever-growing prevalence of loud environments and prolonged exposure to extreme volumes such as recreational activities, loud music concerts, and the constant use of personal audio devices set at high volumes are contributing majorly to hearing damage. Continuous exposure to excessive noise accelerates the onset of hearing loss. Sure, that favorite song of yours by Taylor Swift sounds great at volume 10, but it is affecting your ability to hear.
- Occupational Hazards: Certain occupations regularly expose people to high levels of noise. This includes those working at construction sites, manufacturing facilities; aviation, transportation, and entertainment are prone to noise-induced hearing loss, especially if you don’t wear protective gear for your ears.
- Lifestyle Choices: As mentioned at the beginning of the post, this modern lifestyle involves exposure to loud environments, such as clubs, sporting events, or concerts where high volume is evident and consistent – contributing to hearing damage. Additionally, the increased use of personal audio devices for extended periods, at high volumes, impacts hearing health.
- Medical Conditions: Some medical conditions, such as genetic disorders, infections, or autoimmune diseases, can lead to hearing loss, especially at an earlier age. Genetic predisposition affects individuals, making them prone to hearing issues.
- Increased Awareness: More and more people are now aware of the importance of hearing health, thanks to the cutting-edge diagnostic tools that led to improved identification and detection of hearing loss in the early phase. More and more people affected by hearing loss are seeking professional help and testing their hearing ability, contributing to the perception of early-onset hearing loss.
How to prevent hearing loss?
Listed below are important hearing loss prevention tips:
1.Protect Your Ears Against Noise
Exposure to loud noises is a major cause of hearing damage – you could be at a concert, power tool, or sporting event and wear earplugs or muffs to reduce the impact of excessive sound. Keep the volume at a normal level, especially when listening to music or watching TV – especially with headphones on.
2.Take Breaks from Noise
Giving your ears regular breaks is advised, especially when in loud environments or with headphones on. If you work at a loud site or in a noisy setting, take proper breaks in quieter areas, allowing your ears to recover. It is advised to let your ear calm down.
3.Be Cautious with Headphones
While earbuds and headphones offer entertainment with convenience, don’t forget that they can be harmful, especially when used improperly. Limit your use of headphones or earbuds, and when you do, keep the volume at a reasonable level. Consider using noise-canceling headphones since they block external sounds, allowing you to enjoy music without turning up the volume.
4.Follow a Healthy Lifestyle
Myriad lifestyle factors influence your hearing health. Avoid smoking; it can contribute to hearing loss. Manage chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes – they affect your auditory system. Stay physically active and practice a balanced diet to promote overall well-being – this includes the health of your ears.
5.Be Cautious with Medicines
Certain medications, also known as ototoxic drugs, damage your hearing. This means if you are prescribed medication, consult your healthcare professionals about potential side effects on your hearing. Be vigilant and report any effects or changes in your hearing during or post medication.
6.Schedule Regular Hearing Tests
Like any other routine medical check-up, regular hearing evaluations play a key role, especially in detecting any potential hearing loss early. Schedule an appointment with trusted audiologists or hearing healthcare experts to monitor your hearing health while addressing the concerns.
SUMMARY
Hearing loss can happen at any age and for many reasons, but fret not! Bear in mind that age-related hearing loss isn’t preventable or curable; however, you can take steps to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. You can avoid noise-related hearing loss by getting annual hearing health testing, avoiding ear-damaging loud sounds, wearing ear protection muffs around loud noises, practicing safe headphone listening, stopping medications that cause hearing loss, and quitting smoking that causes hearing loss.
ABOUT HEARING HEALTH CENTER
We at Hearing Health Center are a team of professional audiologists that don’t just treat ears but treat the brain. We understand that we don’t hear with ears since they are merely add-ons that catch sound and channel it to our brains. The brain then processes and makes sense – which is why your ear must send the correct amount and quality of sound. Hearing Health Center, being the leading and trusted hearing clinic, introduced digital hearing aid technology to Chicago.
Need help hearing better? Contact us today!
Did you know that 1 in 10 people in the US have diabetes? That’s 34.2 million Americans! Diabetes causes a partial or absolute deficiency of insulin. Insulin is responsible for creating enzymes that break down fat, starches, and sugar in the blood. An increase in blood sugar damages the inner lining of arteries. The body responds by creating plaque on the artery walls which restricts blood flow.
How does diabetes affect your hearing?
This thickening of artery walls affects an area of the inner ear called the stria vascularis, causing it to atrophy and prevent it from doing its job efficiently. The stria vascularis is responsible for controlling the chemical makeup of the inner ear, which allows the hair cells to change mechanical information into electrical information– a key part of how we hear! Some studies show that an abnormal stria vascularis can even cause hair cell death, permanently damaging your hearing.
A 2008 study by the National Institutes of Health showed that people with diabetes are twice as likely to have hearing problems. In fact, even the 88 million people in the US with prediabetes have a 30% higher likelihood of having hearing problems. That’s 1 in 3 Americans at an increased risk!
Get a baseline hearing test if you have diabetes
If you or a loved one have diabetes or prediabetes, it is important to have a baseline hearing test. Monitoring your hearing is vital to your overall health. Like diabetes, hearing problems can develop gradually, and early detection is critical. In honor of Diabetes Awareness, Hearing Health Center offers complimentary hearing check-ups at all five locations.
Click here to book an appointment