Having good hearing is important for our overall well-being. If you can’t hear properly, your mental health can suffer because you might feel anxious in social situations, or you might stop going out altogether, which can lead to loneliness and depression. As well as this, hearing is a way to keep yourself safe – imagine being out and not being able to hear a car approaching, for example.
Therefore, it makes sense to take good care of your ears as much as you can. There are a number of ways you can do this, so keep reading to find out what some of them are.
Clean Your Ears Carefully
If you have ever used a cotton swab to clean your ears, now is the time to stop and never do it again. These can actually do a lot more harm than good, as they can push earwax much deeper into the ear. This causes damage to the delicate hairs inside, and that can mean your hearing is affected – perhaps permanently.
To clean your ears in a safer way, use a soft cloth or tissues to gently wipe the outer ear. This will help to remove dirt and debris that has accumulated on the skin around the ear without risking any damage. For the inside of your ear, the best option is to have regular ear wax syringing. This should always be done by professionals, and it can give you excellent results.
Be Careful with Noise
Although, of course, our ears are designed to allow us to hear, and therefore noise is something they have to deal with on a daily basis, it’s crucial that we are aware that too much noise can cause a lot of problems, so we do need to take care.
Too much exposure to loud noises can damage the delicate structure in the ear and lead to hearing loss. This is why you need to do whatever you can to reduce the amount of time you spend in loud environments. If you can’t do this, preventative measures like ear plugs or ear defenders are a vital part of keeping your hearing safe.
Another point related to this is that you also need to take care when you wear headphones or earbuds. You’ll need to make sure you keep the volume to a reasonable level; otherwise, you risk damaging your hearing without even noticing it. Ideally, you need to follow the 60/60 rule, where you use your headphones at 60 percent of the maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
Have a Healthy Lifestyle
Some health conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, can have an impact on your hearing and general ear health. Therefore, the more you can take care of yourself and live a healthy lifestyle, the less chance there will be of this happening.
Make sure you exercise regularly, eat a healthy diet, stay hydrated, and manage your stress levels. This will all help you to stay healthy in general, and that means your hearing can stay healthy too.
