It’s likely that you’ve already noticed that you don’t hear as well as you once did. Normally, we don’t even recognize that our choices are negatively impacting our hearing.
With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be avoided. Let’s explore six surprising secrets that will help you protect your hearing.
1. Manage Your Blood Pressure
It’s not good if your blood pressure stays high. A study revealed that individuals with above-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to develop hearing loss, not to mention other health problems.
Take steps to decrease your blood pressure and avoid hearing damage. Don’t neglect high blood pressure or wait to consult a doctor. Blood pressure management includes proper diet, exercise, stress management, and following your doctor’s advice.
2. Stop Smoking
Here’s another reason to quit: Smokers are 15% more likely to develop hearing loss. Even more shocking: People who are regularly subjected to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing troubles. Even if you go away from the room, smoke lingers for long periods of time with unhealthy repercussions.
If you’re a smoker, protect your hearing and think about quitting. Take actions to minimize your exposure to second-hand smoke if you hang out with a smoker.
3. Keep Your Diabetes Under Control
One in four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. A pre-diabetic individual is extremely likely to get diabetes within 5 years unless they make significant lifestyle changes.
Blood vessels that are injured by high blood sugar don’t effectively transport nutrients. A diabetic individual is more than two times as likely to cope with hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic person.
If you suffer from diabetes, protect your hearing by taking the correct steps to control it. Protect your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
4. Lose Some Weight
This is more about your health than feeling great about how you look. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) rises, so does your risk of hearing loss and other health problems. The chance of getting hearing loss increases by 17% for a mildly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. A moderately obese individual has a 25% chance of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.
Work to get rid of some of that extra weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be safeguarded by something as basic as walking for 30 minutes each day.
5. OTC Drugs Shouldn’t be Overused
Some over-the-counter (OTC) medicines can result in hearing impairment. The more frequently these medications are used over a prolonged period of time, the higher the risk.
Drugs such as acetaminophen, naproxen, ibuprofen, and aspirin are known to trigger hearing loss. Use these drugs in moderation and only with your doctor’s advice if you need to take them more regularly.
If you’re taking the recommended dose for the periodic headache, studies suggest you’ll most likely be fine. Taking them every day, however, increases the chance of hearing loss by up to 40% for men.
Your doctor’s orders should always be implemented. Your doctor might be able to recommend some lifestyle changes that will lessen your dependence on these drugs if you are using them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is high in nutrients and vitamins such as C and K and also is high in iron. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Oxygen and nutrients are carried to your cells which helps keep them healthy and nourished and iron is an important part of this process.
If you’re a vegetarian or eat very little meat, it’s critical 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. Individuals who have anemia (severe iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than individuals who have typical iron concentrations. Sensorineural hearing loss is the scientific term for irreversible hearing loss associated with aging.
The inner ear has fragile hair cells that detect sounds and connect with the brain to transmit the volume and frequency of those sounds. If these hair cells die as a result of poor circulation or other complications arising from iron deficiency, they won’t grow back.
You’re never too young to get your hearing examined, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Counter hearing loss by applying these simple secrets in your everyday life.