Nearly half of people over 75 have hearing loss. Did you know that hearing loss can lead to dementia? That is a great motivator to take care of our hearing! One study found that a mild hearing loss doubled the risk of dementia, moderate loss tripled the risk and people with severe hearing loss were 5 times more likely to develop dementia. Dementia is characterized by having short-term memory loss, difficulty recalling words, remembering how to do tasks and inability to problem solve, forgetting to plan or eat meals, as well as emotional changes. The connection between hearing acuity and brain health has to do with becoming socially isolated because one has difficulty hearing what is being said.
Avoid Noise Intensity The most common cause of hearing loss is noise induced from exposure to sound intensity, which is not necessarily how loud is the sound because the length of time of exposure is also a factor. Damage can happen quickly from being near an explosion or siren, or it can come on gradually. The louder the noise, the faster one has permanent hearing loss e.g. stock car race or rock concert it can take as likely as 5 minutes to damage hearing, or continual exposure to high level of noise like a motorcycle engine can effect harm after 50 minutes, a leaf blower after 2 hours of exposure. If you hear ringing in your ear afterwards there has been permanent loss.
Wear Hearing Protection If your work has you using or in an environment where tools used are loud (jackhammer, chainsaw, power tools, blow dryer…) wear protective equipment. If you are in a movie that has an intense loud segment and you don’t have ear plugs, plug your own ears.
Take Breaks If you have to raise your voice volume to be heard, or have to move in closer than an arm’s length away to hear what is being said, the environment is too loud. Ask the management to turn down the volume so you can have a conversation. If more people did this, we will have better quality of life when we are older. (Bars are notorious for having loud music because it is a stressor and people will drink more alcohol!) If you are in a noisy environment including being at a dance, bar, bowling alley, restaurant, avoid being near the speakers. Periodically take an extended break in a quiet area whether it be outside or in your car to rest your inner ears.
Be Careful with earbuds/headphones The concentration of sound and the desire to eliminate outside sound can tempt one to turn up the volume too much. One-fifth of teenagers have hearing loss mostly attributed to doing just that. Turning up the volume on the TV or music player is also not helpful. More is not better!
Be healthy The Journal of Nutrition analyzed the eating patterns of over 70,000 women for 22 years. The ones who ate more plants and limited red and processed meat, salt and sugar (Mediterranean diet or DASH diet) had almost a 30% lower risk of hearing loss. Besides eating a whole food plant-based diet and including exercise to lower stress lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. Do not smoke or vape for that also contributes to cardiovascular disease and diabetes which are linked to hearing loss. Other harms to circulation that adversely impacts hearing health are some over the counter medications like aspirin. Limit drinking alcohol.
Keep Your Ears Clear Remove a buildup of wax with an at home irrigation kit to soften the wax and gently wash it out. Do not put objects, even cotton swabs in the ear canal which will push wax deeper and press it into the walls of the ear causing it to collect and harden. If you suspect you have a build-up, it may be best to see a doctor to remove what is there, and then take care of it properly on your own.
Hearing loss can happen at any age and for many different reasons, but we can be strategic about avoiding noise induced hearing loss. By taking care to protect our hearing, we can continue to enjoy conversation/relaKtionships and better brain health as we get older.
This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 1 John 5:14
SINCE 1979