Healthy choices are not always simple. Usually our hesitation can be conquered if we remind ourselves what is good for us. But is it possible that our health practices may actually damage our ears? It’s more likely than you’d imagine.
Daily Health Habits
You care about the way you look to people when out and about. Combing your hair, brushing your teeth, and usually cleaning your ears is, for most, a frequent practice.
Over time an irritating trickle of a small amount of earwax can build up. Earwax does need to be eliminated from time to time, despite the fact that it does have multiple imperative purposes. The means you use to remove earwax determines the potential harm.
If you are using cotton swabs you should quit as these are not the proper tool for the job. Removing your earwax with a cotton swab can cause permanent injury to your ears and hearing. Consulting a hearing health provider would be your best bet. It’s a standard and easy procedure for them to remove the wax and you can rest assured that your hearing is safe.
Your Workout Program
The best way to look healthy and feel good is to stay in shape. Relaxing your muscles, getting the blood flowing, losing weight, and clearing your mind, are all benefits of working out. But workouts executed improperly are the concern.
Physical fitness trends are moving toward high-impact workouts that test your endurance. Exercises intended to build muscle may actually stress your ears. Strenuous exercise can cause a build up of pressure in the ears. Balance and hearing troubles can be the result.
This doesn’t mean quitting your workouts is the right answer. You just need to make certain you’re doing it right. Don’t hold your breath and avoid stressing when you’re at the gym. If you feel like you’ve reached your limit, discontinue.
Your Successful Career
Having a prospering career usually means having a lot of stress. While working hard to achieve career accomplishment is great, high stress levels can impact your health.
Stress has been known to cause weight gain, impaired thinking, and muscle pain, but did you know it can also cause hearing loss? The issue is actually the poor blood flow caused by stress. Poor circulation means that imperative parts of your body, like the delicate hairs in your ears, don’t get the supply of blood and oxygen they need. When the hairs in your ear die, they won’t grow back. Why do they matter? Those hairs are how your brain senses sound waves. So without them you may not hear.
However, you can keep your career and your hearing. Simple strategies for lowering strain can be used to keep the blood flowing. It is necessary to take time away from a stressful situation. If you have time, read or watch something humorous. Stress can be naturally relieved with humor.
Enjoying the Arts
Exposing your mind to all forms of art is a healthy practice. But different forms of art have different levels of impact on hearing.
Going to the movies or attending a live music event is louder than you may suspect. In most cases, you’re busy being swept up in the message of the medium to ask if it’s damaging your hearing. The sad truth is, it very well may be.
The solution to this one is simple. Make sure you protect your ears if you are planning on attending a loud event. While you wouldn’t wear large earmuffs at an opera, you might use small discreet in-ear noise reduction devices instead.
Like with anything else, being informed and prepared will help to protect. Schedule a hearing test with a expert if you think you may have already experienced hearing damage from a high volume activity. That’s the only reliable way of knowing for sure.