Minimize Hearing Loss with These Three Basic Steps

When you begin to experience hearing loss, it is important to take a proactive approach and take steps to minimize its progression. These steps are easy to do and can help limit any future damage and protect against further hearing loss. It is important to note that hearing loss cannot be reversed, but you can certainly slow down the impact and provide yourself with practices that will help you manage it a lot better.

Here are three basic steps to help you get started with minimizing hearing loss.

Avoid Loud Noises

Loud noises over a prolonged period can significantly impact your hearing. It is important to review the daily activities and environments you spend most of your time in, to see what the noise level is like. This is especially important if you like to go to concerts, listen to loud music, work with machinery or drive for long periods on the freeway. It can be hard to avoid loud noises completely, but there are certain steps that you can take to reduce your exposure to loud noises and lessen the damage you may create.

For example, if you work in a noisy environment and cannot change jobs, then you may consider investing in high-quality hearing protection, such as earmuffs or earplugs, to help reduce the noise. If you like to listen to music or attend concerts, then you may consider keeping the volume low. Many smart devices now have a volume control component that you can set up to alert you when the volume is getting to a dangerous level.

You may also consider earplugs for concerts. Lastly, for the times where you may not be aware of the noise in your environment, you can download a special app on your phone which can alert you to high decibels in your environment.

Keep Your Ears Clean

It is important to keep your ears clean, especially around the ear canal, to help prevent an accumulation of wax buildup. Earwax plays an important role. It is a substance produced by your ear, to keep it clean and protect it. The wax, along with the small hairs inside your ear, stops foreign particles and dust from damaging your eardrum.

However, too much wax can begin to cause you problems, which is why keeping your ears clean is important. When wax builds up it can increase your chances of an ear infection, which can interfere with your hearing as it becomes inflamed. It can also put a stop to sound entering your ear, making it difficult to hear.

To keep your ears clean, you must avoid using cotton swabs. Although these are common in bathrooms in America, they can make things worse by pushing earwax down and causing damage, rather than removing it. Instead, you should opt for ear drops or speak to your audiologist for advice.

Speak to an Audiologist

The earlier you can spot the signs of hearing loss and seek support, the more manageable your hearing loss can be. Hearing loss happens over time, which means you can take plenty of steps to minimize its progression and support yourself when you need it. An audiologist will be able to take you through a range of tests and assessments, to better understand the level of hearing loss you are experiencing and why. They will then be able to tailor a solution for you and provide you with help, support and a treatment plan to move forward.

They will be able to answer any questions that you have and point you in the right direction of support groups, which can be extremely helpful in managing hearing loss. An audiologist will also be able to help you with a hearing aid, if that is the right course of action for you, along with steps to help you prevent further damage to your ears. Hearing aids are an excellent addition, as they will prevent you from being around loud noises that cause damage as your hearing would have improved.

They will also be able to prevent your body from working overtime to hear more and isolate yourself from conversations. Hearing aids and advice from audiologists can be extremely effective in minimizing hearing loss. Regardless of how severe the hearing loss is that you are experiencing, you can take these three basic steps to minimize its progression and help you manage it better daily.

To learn more about Baker Audiology & Hearing Aids, please call us at (605) 610-3466 today.