Sound is everywhere around us, all the time. Whether you’re at home, at work, on the road, or anywhere else, you will hear countless amounts of sounds with your changing environments. One of the most important aspects of your health is your hearing and protecting your hearing can have a lasting positive impact on your daily life.
Your ears have many little fibers, known as hair cells, that help you be able to hear. The problem with these fibers is that when you damage them, they can’t be fixed, making it extremely important to protect them. Some people may also think they eventually just get accustomed to loud noises. However, the issue with this is that once you think your ears are used to the noise, you probably have already lost some of your hearing!
Hearing loss is something that affects many people, but it’s more than just your ears. This is closely associated with many issues such as age, heart problems, diabetes, depression, and cognitive decline. Some symptoms of hearing loss include:
- Constantly having to ask others to repeat themselves
- Struggling to keep up with conversations involving two or more people
- Thinking that others are speaking quietly or mumbling
- Having trouble with following individual voices in noisy places
You also may have hearing loss if:
- Others are commenting that your radio or TV is too loud
- Others are saying that your responses or conversations don’t make sense
- You have a family history of hearing loss, or a history of exposure to loud songs
- You have diabetes, heart, circulation, or thyroid problems
So, how do you protect yourself in our loud and busy world? By taking these simple steps to protect your hearing, you can help prevent yourself from experiencing these problems and avoid other more serious health problems as well.
- Turn the music down!
Just about everyone has a smartphone today, which means many people also have a vast library of music and podcasts, as well as access to Netflix and YouTube whenever they want. This also presents a new challenge to protect peoples’ hearing. For those that listen to music or watch videos and TV shows on their phones, they are also most likely listening with earbuds or headphones. Try to avoid setting the volume too high, as this can cause you to lose some of your hearing in a matter of minutes.
- Wear protection devices if you work around loud machinery
For those that work in factories and lawn care, always be sure to protect your hearing by wearing hearing protection devices like earmuffs or foam earplugs. Even if you are used to the loud sounds in your work environment, it is important to be aware of these noisy machines and be responsible with your hearing.
- Be cautious at live events and concerts
One of the best things you can do if you are planning to attend a potentially loud event or concert is to bring a pair of earplugs. If you can, try and sit in an area that is away from the speakers. Exposing yourself to high levels of noise for an extended period of time is very dangerous for your hearing.
- Use protective equipment if you hunt or shoot guns regularly
Gunshots can do serious damage to your hearing if you are not wearing any kind of protective gear or earplugs. If you plan to be around firearms at all, wearing protective hearing equipment is necessary, as you could suffer permanent hearing damage otherwise.
- Go somewhere quieter!
This may seem simple, but it can help very much! If you are in a loud environment and struggling to have a conversation with your friends, just go to another room or even outside where it’s quieter. Not only will this help you hear each other better, but it will also keep your ears protected.
- Water pressure and infections for children
If your children participate in swimming regularly, it might be beneficial for them to get fitted with a swim mold to protect against water entering into the ear canal which can lead to other infections. This can go a long way in protecting your kids from damaging their hearing.
- Use technology to monitor your noise environment
There are a few different ways that you can use technology to monitor your environment and alert you if it is too loud. The Apple Watch has a noise app built-in to the watch, which can measure the sound levels in your environment using its microphone and will notify you if it detects the decibel level has reached a point that it could damage your hearing (NOTE: this feature is only available in Series 4 or later versions of the watch {WatchOS 6}). There are also different apps you can download on your phone that will monitor the decibel levels around you, such as Decibel X:dB and NIOSH. You also could purchase an inexpensive noise level monitor device and bring it with you if you expect to encounter loud sounds.
Your hearing is a valuable thing, so it is important to treat it like it is. If you think you may have hearing loss or are at risk of hearing loss, call our Affinity Ear, Nose, Throat and Audiology Services Clinic to schedule an appointment with our board certified Audiologist. Call 318-812-1125 or visit MyAffinityHealth.com/ENT.