Chances are you’ve already noticed that you don’t hear as well as you once did. Normally, we don’t even recognize that our decisions are negatively impacting our hearing.
With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be avoided. Let’s look at 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 higher than-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to develop hearing loss, not to mention other health problems.
Prevent damage to your hearing by taking actions to reduce your blood pressure. See a doctor right away and never disregard your high blood pressure. Following your doctor’s advice, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and exercising regularly are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Quit Smoking
Here’s another reason to quit: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. What’s even more surprising is that there’s a 28% higher probability of someone experiencing hearing problems if they are regularly subjected to second-hand smoke. The harmful repercussions of second-hand smoke are not only harmful, they also hang in the air for long periods.
Consider safeguarding your hearing, if you smoke, by quitting. Take measures to minimize your exposure to second-hand smoke if you hang out around a smoker.
3. Keep Your Diabetes Under Control
One in four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. Unless they make some serious lifestyle changes, someone who is pre-diabetic will probably get diabetes within 5 years.
High blood sugar harms blood vessels, which makes it extremely hard for them to efficiently transport nutrients. A diabetic individual is more than twice as likely to experience hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic individual.
If you have diabetes, take the steps necessary to properly manage it. Safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
4. Lose Some Weight
This isn’t about body image or feeling good about yourself. It’s about your health. Hearing loss and other health conditions rise as your Body Mass Index (BMI) increases. A slightly obese woman (with a 30 to 34 BMI) has a 17% increased risk of getting hearing loss. A moderately obese person has a 25% chance of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.
Take measures to lose that excess weight. Something as basic as walking for 30 minutes every day can reduce your risk of hearing loss and prolong your life.
5. OTC Medicines Shouldn’t be Overused
Hearing impairment can be the outcome of some over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The danger goes up when these medicines are taken on a regular basis over prolonged periods of time.
Medications such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin are known to trigger hearing loss. Take these medicines in moderation and only with your doctor’s guidance if you need to take them more regularly.
Studies reveal that you’ll most likely be fine if you’re using these medications periodically in the suggested doses. Using them on a daily basis, however, raises the risk of hearing loss by up to 40% for men.
Your doctor’s advice should always be implemented. Your doctor may be able to suggest some lifestyle changes that will reduce your dependence on these drugs if you are taking them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is packed with iron in addition to important nutrients including vitamins C and K. Iron is vital to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Iron helps your blood transport nutrients and oxygen to cells to keep them healthy and nourished.
If you’re a vegetarian or don’t eat much 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.
Pennsylvania State University researchers examined over 300,000 individuals. 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. Age-related irreversible hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.
Sound is received and sent to the brain by tiny little hairs in the inner ear which vibrate with the frequency and volume of that sound. If these hair cells die because of poor circulation or other complications arising from iron deficiency, they never grow back.
You’re never too young to get your hearing checked, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Implement these steps into your life and prevent hearing loss.