Tips to Improving Your Hearing
Cautionary measures to protect hearing should be observed by those with the impediment and those who don’t have any hearing issues. To fight hearing loss, most people embrace practices that assist them in hearing well. Healthy practices may include eating and living a healthy lifestyle, avoiding polluted noise environments, and generally observing a strict oral hygiene regime.
Hearing involves an intricate process. Most people may not even realize that they have a hearing problem until it starts to affect them since, in most cases, it appears progressively. They should, therefore, get hearing aid that can improve their hearing. These medical devices can significantly assist in hearing loss. Other people may find different means like yoga and meditation, which is excellent for handling stressful situations.
It does not matter whether or not you’ve been diagnosed with hearing loss. It would be best if you always took the initiative to minimize the risk of aggravating it. There are a host of things that you can do to improve your health. Some of these initiatives include:
1. Wear your hearing aids
Wearing hearing aids regularly if you are diagnosed and recommended by your audiologist can help you a great deal. Remember that the more you use the gadgets, the more you learn to understand and familiarize yourself with amplified sound.
The use of amplification provides the “brain boost” that your ears require to send sound waves to the brain’s auditory area, and hence its processed into meaningful sound. Hearing loss can be more severe, mostly if it remains untreated for a lengthy period because it is the part of the brain tasked with processing auditory signals.
This part candedicate itself to other brain functions, making it relatively harder to hear in the long run.Remember that hearing isn’t the only part of your body that benefits when you wear your hearing aids.
2. Overall general health
Wearing hearing aids has added health benefits. First, you can lead an everyday life without dependence on others in the course of your daily activities. With the ability to hear, the stigma associated with an impairment will be lifted, removing the psychological effect leading to a restoration of your routine.
3. Mental health
When most people discover that they have hearing challenges, they may start isolating themselves from the public. This can cause mental health complications because untreated hearing loss can develop into increased anger, anxiety, and social isolation.Among adult Americans, one of the causes of depression is hearing loss. Therefore, you should get treated immediately; you discover that there is an issue with your hearing.
4. Do practice exercises that improve your hearing.
The central nervous system is an integral part of a human being. The brain, which is central to this system, ensures that all pulse signalsrelayed to it are well interpreted and designated to the respective part. A research carried out by the University of Pennsylvania indicates an interrelation between hearing loss and mental conditions, which is brought about by anxiety and depression.
There is a general suggestion that hearing loss may lead to gray matter atrophy in the brain’s auditory areas, especially in older people. Therefore, it’s recommended that you do brain exercises such as crossword puzzles and challenging playing games to help with brain juices’ flow. You can also take part in the following:
• Take part in strategic games.
Strategic games like brain teasers and puzzles avail good mental work. They bring about the ability to build on the brain’s capacity and hold onto cognitive associations. Other games that can help your brain function much better are playing cards, board games, Scrabble, and Sudoku.
• Noise simulation
You can simulate having conversations in a noisy environment at home. Turn the radio or television to normal and then involve yourself in a conversation with your friends in the same room. You can then continue with the conversation while eliminating all the other sounds. This exercise is essential since it equips your mind on the concentration of only the critical sound and thus trains the ear to cut out unnecessary sounds.
• Practice finding the source of the sound
Another practice that keeps your hearing senses alert is to practice finding where the sound is coming from. It can be done by closing your eyes and then asking one of your friends to move to a different room location and make some noise. Check whether you can be able to point out the direction of the sound and the possible distance.
• Practice recognizing various types of sounds
Find a quiet place, and with eyes closed, try and identify all the different sounds you can hear while you determine the distance. This practice is essential because the more sounds you will recognize and the distance where the sound is coming from, the more you will sharpen your hearing senses.
5. Stop smoking
Did you know that smoking is associated with hearing loss? According to a study published on May 29, 2014 issue in the Journal of the Association for Research in Otolaryngology by the University of Manchester, smokers are 28% likely to develop hearing loss than non-smokers.
Nicotine and carbon monoxide is known to squeeze your blood vessels, consequently cutting off the much-needed oxygen in your inner ear that keeps hair cells in the cochlea healthy. Nicotine is also known to affect the auditory nerve’s neurotransmitters, thus inhibiting them from adequately dispensing sound.
Luckily, when you kick the habit of cigarette smoking, the practice can benefit your overall health. According to the American Heart Association, your lungs start healing once you stop cigarette smoking. When quitting cigarette smoking, there is a reduced chance of heart and lung cancer, all of which come about due to cigarette smoking, leading to an early demise.
6. Turn down the volume.
Loud music is the surest way to develop listening problems. An estimated 26 million Americans developed hearing loss due to noise exposure; which is according to The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Without a doubt, the easiest way to prevent hearing loss is to reduce the volume of the noise in your environment. The NIDCD advice the following to avoid listening disorders:
- You should know which noises in your environment are destructive, which are 85 decibels and above.
- Wear a noise guard each time you know you’ll be exposed to loud noise.
- When you know that you will be exposed to loud noise without protection, the best option is to stay away from such an environment.
- Young children should be protected from loud music by adults.
Generally, lowering the noise levels can help a lot in stopping high rates of hearing loss. Everyone should ensure that noise pollution is reduced or where any such exposure is necessary, steps to protect people by either wearing earplugs or other protective gear is taken.
7. Schedule a hearingvaluation
Audiologists’ checkups and evaluation are essential because early detections and corrective measures can be taken to nip hearing loss in the bud. The audiologist can administer a baseline hearing evaluation to determine your hearing’s health and continue to observe it as your age progresses. You should, therefore, establish a good relation with your hearing professional for a healthy hearing life.
People without personal physicians can look up hearing clinics online. It’s worth noting that even though you might be on a busy schedule for your other essential business or social engagements, seeing a specialist can save your body’s most vital part, which helps you in communication.
7. Change your diet
Diet matters a lot, and that’s why you should change it as much as you can. Your meals should comprise the nutrients required for good health and excellent ear function. Saturated animal fats and refined carbohydrates should form a tiny percentage of your diet. These types of food can reduce the flow of blood to the ears and other parts of the body, brought about by high cholesterol which is not healthy for a human being
Incorporate cold-water fish like salmon, trout, and herring. You can also include nuts, seeds, and whole grains in your everyday eating. Additionally, take fresh vegetables and fruits which are suitable for your health.
Conclusion
Hearing is essential in a person’s life. That’s why taking good care of it should be on your to-do list. Exercising frequently can improve your health life in general, other than your social life. Healthy lifestyle advocates will tell you that cigarette smoking can pose a significant challenge to your health. Heavy drinking can also lead to health complications that may lead to hearing loss should be avoided.
Visiting a hearing professional is another way that can lead to healthy hearing life. Health professionals can detect early signs of hearing loss and advice on the way forward. Additionally, they can continue monitoring while they provide the best medical advice on living a healthy lifestyle. Finally, eating healthy foods and avoiding an environment with loud noise can protect your ear.
