You’ve most likely already noticed that your hearing is waning. Usually, we don’t even recognize that our decisions are negatively affecting our hearing.
With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be avoided. What follows are 6 secrets that will help you protect your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
Persistently high blood pressure is not okay. A study found that people with higher than-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to have hearing loss, not to mention other health concerns.
Reduce damage to your hearing by taking actions to reduce your blood pressure. Consult a doctor as soon as possible and never ignore your high blood pressure. Following your doctor’s advice, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and exercising regularly are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Quit Smoking
Here’s one more reason to quit: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. Even more alarming: Individuals who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to have hearing problems. The harmful repercussions of second-hand smoke are not only harmful, they also linger in the air for long periods.
Think about protecting your hearing, if you smoke, by quitting. If you hang out with a smoker, take steps to decrease your exposure to second-hand smoke.
3. Control Your Diabetes
One out of four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. A pre-diabetic individual 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 difficult 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 control it. Safeguard 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 great about yourself. It’s about your health. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) goes up, so does your risk of hearing loss and other health disorders. A mildly 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 each day.
5. OTC Medications Shouldn’t be Overused
Hearing loss can be the result of some over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The risk rises when these medicines are taken regularly over lengthy periods of time.
Medicines such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin are known to cause hearing loss. Take these drugs moderately and consult your doctor if you’re taking them regularly.
Studies reveal that you’ll most likely be okay if you’re taking these medications periodically in the suggested doses. Using them daily, however, raises the risk of hearing loss by as much as 40% for men.
Always follow your doctor’s recommendations. Your doctor might be able to recommend some lifestyle changes that will decrease your dependence on these drugs if you are using them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with iron along with essential nutrients such as vitamins C and K. Iron is integral to a healthy heart and strong blood circulation. Nutrients and oxygen are carried to your cells which helps keep them healthy and nourished and iron is a major part of this process.
If you’re a vegetarian or don’t eat much meat, it’s important that you consume enough plant-based iron. 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 people were examined by Pennsylvania State University. The researchers found participants with anemia (extreme iron deficiency) were two times as likely to develop sensorineural hearing loss as those without the disorder. Age-related permanent hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.
Sound is received and transmitted to the brain by delicate little hairs in the inner ear which vibrate with the frequency and volume of that sound. If these hair cells die as a result of poor circulation or other complications arising from iron deficiency, they never grow back.
You’re never too young to have your hearing examined, so don’t wait until it’s too late. Implement these steps into your life and reduce hearing loss.