Hearing Loss Prevention Tips

Many forms of entertainment—as well as unavoidable work situations—can put your hearing in harm's way. If you're in a loud commercial, industrial, or recreational environment, you should use hearing protection. Concerts and even some movies warrant wearing ear protection, and you should always protect your ears whenever you’re firing guns or near people who are.  

Ear wax is an important form of ear protection, naturally produced by the body. Even so, excessive amounts of ear wax can cause buildup, preventing sound from entering the ear. Blockage caused by ear wax is actually one of the most common causes of conductive hearing loss, or hearing loss that occurs when sound is blocked from reaching the inner ear.

Fortunately, this type of hearing loss tends to be temporary. If the ear wax is removed in a timely manner, hearing can normally be restored. Your doctor or hearing care professional can determine if the wax production in your ears is normal and perform a simple procedure to clear up any blockage.

You can also treat ear wax buildup at home, but don't use cotton swabs—they can push wax deeper into your ear and create buildup near the eardrum. You should also avoid ear candling, an alternative medical therapy meant to remove ear wax. It has yet to be proven safe or effective. Consult your doctor or a licensed hearing care professional before attempting this or any other method for clearing wax buildup.

If you’ve ever traveled by plane, you’ve probably experienced a “popping” sensation in your ears during takeoff and landing, known as "airplane ear".

When air pressure rapidly builds and drops during flight, our ears feel blocked and it becomes difficult to hear. The Eustachian tubes—passageways on either side of the head connecting the upper part of the throat to the middle ear— equalize air pressure in the middle ear and cause that "pop" in your ears. To avoid the pain associated with this reaction, try using pressure-regulating earplugs during air travel.

Flying while congested can also create complications that lead to temporary or, in some cases, permanent hearing loss.

Congestion causes swelling to the tissues lining the Eustachian tubes and makes it impossible to equalize air pressure, leading to severe ear pain. In more serious cases, the pressure may cause your eardrum to burst. 

It’s best practice to avoid air travel if you have a sinus infection or cold, but if you must fly, take a nasal decongestant.

These medications help reduce swelling and open the passageways of the Eustachian tubes. 

Your mouth's health can affect other areas of our body, including the ears. Though a direct link between oral health and hearing health has not yet been established, your quality of hearing depends on good blood circulation.

Harmful bacteria from tooth decay or gum disease can enter your bloodstream and disrupt circulation. And without adequate blood flow, the hair cells in the inner ear are prone to damage, resulting in sensorineural hearing loss.

Chronic stress saps energy and weakens the immune system, leaving us more prone to all kinds of health issues, including hearing loss.

The body’s response to high stress levels triggers an overproduction of adrenaline that can reduce or even completely disrupt blood flow to the inner ear and result in sensorineural hearing loss.

Evidence also reveals that the likelihood and intensity of tinnitus may increase when we’re under stress, and significant long-term stress often leads to the development of high blood pressure, also known as hypertension, which is another condition linked to hearing loss and tinnitus.

While stress can result in hearing damage and tinnitus, living with these conditions can also increase that stress. Finding ways to cope with stress, whether through therapy or other practices, is important to your hearing and overall health.

Diet plays a crucial role in many aspects of our health, including how well we hear. While there’s no guarantee that certain types of foods will prevent hearing loss, practicing good dietary habits can go a long way in supporting or gradually improving your ear health.

Be aware that alcohol and hearing loss are also linked. A study from the University of Ulm in Germany* found that long-term heavy drinking can cause damage to the central auditory cortex, where the brain processes sound. Alcohol can also damage the tiny hairs of the inner ear that play an important role in processing sound, picking up auditory information and transferring it to your brain for processing. That kind of damage is irreversible, so limiting your alcohol consumption is the best way to protect your hearing.

Did you know the chemicals found in cigarettes can affect your ears? Nicotine interferes with the neurotransmitters that work with the brain to process sound. In fact, smokers are 15% more likely to have hearing loss than non-smokers.

While using pain relievers on occasion is fine, frequently using aspirin or ibuprofen can lead to temporary or permanent hearing loss. These types of medication are classified as ototoxic, which means that over time they will harm the sensory cells within your ear. These cells are essential to your hearing and balance, meaning you may experience hearing loss or more frequent falls if they're damaged. When using ototoxic medications consistently, you should have periodic hearing tests and monitor any changes in your hearing.

Did you know the noise from a power drill typically registers at 90 dB? A jackhammer is even louder, at a whopping 130 dB. Since any noise over 85 dB, about the volume of a lawn mower, can cause hearing damage, construction workers are frequently at risk. Luckily, many construction workers benefit from working outside, which can help alleviate the impact of noisy machinery. Even so, wearing ear plugs  is a must on the construction site.

One of the most common complaints of factory workers is excessive noise. In addition to the loud machinery they work with all day, large fans often run throughout the day. While workers often wear ear plugs or ear muffs as personal protection while working in a factory, adding silencers to equipment or creating sound barriers around loud machinery can help reduce noise while on the job.

The most common military service-related injury, hearing damage, tends to get overlooked. Although the military has been implementing hearing conservation programs for decades, more than 60% of veterans return home with some degree of hearing loss. Permanent hearing damage is often a direct result of loud explosions, the roar of airplane or ship engines, or even gunfire (which is around 110 dB). At Miracle-Ear, we’re committed to serving veterans by improving their access to quality hearing healthcare.

Airport workers work with equipment and machinery such as engines, generators and compressors, all of which give off loud noise. The sound of a jet plane taking off reaches over 140 dB, so it’s easy to understand the importance hearing protection on the tarmac. Just as in many other professions, custom ear plugs or ear muffs are essential.

Hearing protection is recommended for musicians and others who work in music production and live shows. The sound of drums can easily reach over 100 dB, which means you can only listen for a few minutes without protection before risking damage to your ears and hearing. In addition to ear plugs, noise cancelling headphones can ensure that you can listen to music at safe levels.