It’s likely that you’ve already noticed that you don’t hear as well as you used to. Hearing loss frequently progresses because of decisions you make without realizing they’re affecting your hearing.
With a few simple lifestyle changes, many kinds of hearing loss can be avoided. Let’s explore six unexpected secrets that will help you protect your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
Persistently high blood pressure is not good. A study determined that individuals who have above-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to have hearing loss, not to mention other health concerns.
Avoid injury to your hearing by taking measures to lower your blood pressure. Don’t ignore high blood pressure or wait to consult a doctor. Following your doctor’s guidance, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Quit Smoking
There are plenty of good reasons to quit smoking, here’s yet another: 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 troubles. The harmful repercussions of second-hand smoke are not only harmful, they also stay in the air for long periods.
Think about safeguarding your hearing, if you smoke, by quitting. If you hang out with a smoker, take actions to reduce your exposure to second-hand smoke.
3. Manage Your Diabetes
One out of four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. Unless they make some serious lifestyle changes, someone who is pre-diabetic will very likely get diabetes within 5 years.
Blood vessels that are damaged by high blood sugar don’t efficiently transport nutrients. Compared to a person who doesn’t have diabetes, a diabetic person has more than twice the chance of developing hearing loss.
If you suffer from diabetes, protect your hearing by taking the correct steps to manage it. If you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes to prevent it.
4. Lose Some Weight
This is more about your health than feeling great about your body image. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) goes up, so does your possibility of hearing loss and other health disorders. The risk of getting hearing loss increases by 17% for a slightly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. For a person with a BMI of 40 (moderate obesity), the risk rises to 25%.
Take steps to shed that extra weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be protected by something as basic as walking for 30 minutes every day.
5. Don’t Overuse OTC Drugs
Hearing impairment can be the result of certain over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The danger increases when these medicines are taken on a regular basis over lengthy periods of time.
Common over-the-counter drugs that affect hearing include aspirin, NSAIDs (like naproxen, ibuprofen), and acetaminophen. Take these medicines in moderation and only with your doctor’s advice if you need to take them more regularly.
Studies demonstrate that you’ll probably be fine if you’re using these medications occasionally in the suggested doses. Taking them every day, however, raises the chance of hearing loss by as much as 40% for men.
Your doctor’s orders should always be followed. Your doctor may be able to recommend some lifestyle changes that will reduce your dependence on these medications if you are taking them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with iron as well as important nutrients such as vitamins C and K. Iron is vital to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Oxygen and nutrients are carried to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a major part of this process.
For vegetarians or individuals who don’t eat much meat, eating a sufficient amount of plant-based iron is essential. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.
Pennsylvania State University researchers examined more than 300,000 individuals. People who have anemia (extreme iron deficiency) are two times as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than people who have normal iron concentrations. Sensorineural hearing loss is the scientific term for irreversible hearing loss related to the aging process.
Sound is received and sent to the brain by delicate little hairs in the inner ear which resonate with the volume and frequency 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 checked, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Apply these steps to your life and prevent hearing loss.