subject: Improve Your Hearing Health with Five Easy Steps [print this page] If you have found yourself struggling to hear things lately, it is never too late to take some steps to improve your hearing health. Many Americans are unaware of how important the health of their ears really is, while other people are oblivious to the many ways that their ability to hear affects their lives on a daily basis. If you take your ability to hear for granted, now is the time to start thinking about how important it is, as well as whether you are struggling with it. Whether or not you feel like you are suffering from hearing loss, now is the time to take your health into your own hands. Here are five simple steps you can take to put yourself on the right track.
5. Be aware of the level of noises you expose your ears to. Researchers have learned that people's ears should only be exposed to sounds that reach up to 80 decibels, but that anything higher than that will generally lead to long term hearing damage. Fortunately, people can try to avoid many loud noises by taking caution when listening to music or watching movies. Of course you don't always have control over what kinds of noises your ears are exposed to because there are often exceptionally loud noises in public places such as construction sites, music concerts, or subways. You can, however, always use earplugs if you are forced to be in a loud environment.
4. Eat more fish. Scientists have discovered that consuming omega-3 fatty acids can help lower people's risk of experiencing hearing loss. Recent studies have shown that eating fish twice a week can lower the risk by as much as 40%, which is quite a significant amount.
3. Visit your doctor to take a hearing test. Your health related to your ears is just like any other part of your body, and until you get tested, you and your doctor won't really know how to proceed. Once you've taken the painless test, your doctor will be able to recommend several hearing solutions that may suit your needs.
2. Consider using a hearing aid in order to improve what you can hear. Aids are much smaller than they've been in the past, which means they are more comfortable and less noticeable to onlookers. So you don't have to worry about people wondering what is sticking on the outside of your ear, because you can get a comfortable aid that will sit right inside of your ear. There are plenty of options to choose from so you don't have to feel limited.
1. Make sure that you do not stick objects into your ears. If you like to use cotton swabs or Q-tips to clean out your ears, you'd be better off with just sticking to soap and water. If you feel like your ears are really clogged and you aren't able to clean them, visit your doctor who can use a water pick to clean your ears out safely. That way, you don't put your ear drums or any other part of your ear at risk for being damaged, which can then lead to hearing loss.
