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Happy New Year, Happy New Ear! If you haven’t already, add hearing health to that long list of resolutions this year. Ear health and hearing health are equally important as our overall health, so why not make it a priority to be proactive in taking care of our hearing this year?
Research has shown that hearing loss is the third most common health problem in the U.S., after heart disease and arthritis. It is more prevalent than diabetes and cancer. Even more startling, approximately 1 in 8 children between the ages of six to nineteen have noise-induced hearing loss and close to 30 million workers are exposed to hazardous noises at the job.
But let’s shift away from the negatives of hearing loss and onto the positives of taking the right steps this New Year towards adopting practices that protect your hearing!
Positive Outcomes from Prioritizing Hearing Health
Early Identification of Hearing Loss Brings Many Health Benefits
Believe it or not, by the time a significant hearing loss is perceived, it has likely existed for as long as five to ten years! Hearing loss is a very gradual process and many of us may not even recognize the signs of hearing loss. As such, hearing health professionals recommend baseline hearing tests if you are over 21 years old.
Through a baseline test, you will be able to track your hearing abilities over the years and be more equipped to identify the signs of hearing loss. Recognizing those early signs brings many benefits to your overall health. Treating hearing loss early on allows your cognitive abilities to remain strong and also mitigates the increased risk for dementia, falls, and accidents.
Like any other health issue, early identification and intervention provides the best possible outcome.
Early Detection of Hearing Loss Protects Your Earning Power
Research shows that individuals with untreated hearing loss earn less than their counterparts – those not facing loss and those who treated hearing loss through the use of a hearing device. Why is this the case? Untreated hearing loss negatively impacts our cognitive speech abilities, leading to miscommunication in the workplace. It also disrupts our efficiency, productivity, and concentration.
Annual hearing tests allow hearing health professionals to monitor your hearing abilities and prescribe the necessary treatment, and quality hearing instruments will drastically improve your overall job performance.
Treating Hearing Loss is Improves Your Social Life
Humans are social creatures, and we relish time spent with family and friends. Untreated hearing loss disrupts speech recognition, resulting in communication breakdowns and misunderstandings. Stress, depression, and anxiety are also linked to untreated hearing loss and ultimately isolate us from loved ones. Treating hearing loss early on allows you to stay connected with your friends and family and will drastically improve your social life.
Hearing Health Tips to Protect Your Hearing
Use Hearing Protection
Exposure to harmful noise can happen at any age, including children, teens, young adults, and older adults. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Communication Disorders (NIDCD), as many as 40 million adults the U.S. face some sort of hearing loss. In many of these cases, it is due to noise-induced hearing loss. Fortunately, there are many preventative measures, form the use of basic earplugs to more professional hearing safety devices that will mitigate noise-induced hearing loss.
Keep Your Ears Dry and Keep the Cotton Swabs Away
Too much moisture left in your ear creates an environment for bacteria to enter, causing swimmer’s ear – an infection in the outer ear canal – or other types of ear infections. After swimming or showering, use a towel to clean your ears. If there’s still water stuck in your inner ear, tilt your head sideways and pull your earlobe gently to guide the water out.
Under no circumstance should you use a cotton swab to try to clean out your ear. Our ear canals are shorter than we realize, and by using cotton swabs to clean our ears, we could damage the eardrum.
Get Your Hearing Checked Regularly
Audiologist and hearing health professionals advise anyone over the age of 50 to have their ears and hearing checked annually. Hearing loss develops gradually and seeing a professional can help you recognize the signs and take action to prevent further hearing loss. Make an appointment today with Audiology Consultants for that New Year’s hearing test!