You’ve most likely already noticed that your hearing is waning. Hearing loss typically progresses as a result of decisions you make without recognizing they’re impacting your hearing.
With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be prevented. Let’s look at six unexpected secrets that will help you preserve your hearing.
1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure
Consistently high blood pressure is not okay. A study revealed that hearing loss was 52% more likely with people who have above average blood pressure and they are more likely to have other health problems as well.
Prevent damage to your hearing by taking actions to reduce your blood pressure. Consult a doctor right away and never dismiss your high blood pressure. Following your doctor’s orders, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise are all parts of blood pressure management.
2. Stop Smoking
There are plenty of reasons to quit smoking, here’s another: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. Even more shocking: Individuals who are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing issues. The harmful consequences 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 decrease your exposure to second-hand smoke if you spend time with a smoker.
3. Keep Your Diabetes in Check
One out of four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. Unless they make some significant lifestyle changes, somebody who is pre-diabetic will probably get diabetes within 5 years.
Blood vessels that are damaged by high blood sugar don’t effectively transport nutrients. A diabetic person is more than two times as likely to experience hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic individual.
If you suffer from diabetes, safeguard your hearing by taking the appropriate steps to control it. Safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.
4. Lose Some Weight
This is more about your health than feeling great about how you look. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) rises, so does your risk of hearing loss and other health problems. A slightly obese woman (with a 30 to 34 BMI) has a 17% higher chance of getting hearing loss. A moderately obese individual has a 25% chance of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.
Work to get rid of some of that excess weight. Something as simple as walking for 30 minutes each day can lower your chance of hearing loss and prolong your life.
5. OTC Medications Shouldn’t be Overused
Some over-the-counter (OTC) drugs can cause hearing impairment. The more often these medications are used over a prolonged period of time, the greater the risk.
Drugs like acetaminophen, naproxen, ibuprofen, and aspirin are known to trigger hearing loss. Take these medications moderately and talk to your doctor if you’re taking them regularly.
If you’re taking the recommended dose for the periodic headache, studies suggest you’ll most likely be okay. Taking them daily, however, raises the risk of hearing loss by as much as 40% for men.
Your doctor’s advice should always be followed. Your doctor might be able to suggest some lifestyle changes that will reduce your dependence on these drugs if you are using them every day.
6. Eat More Broccoli
Broccoli is loaded with iron as well as essential nutrients including vitamins C and K. Iron is integral to a healthy heart and proper blood circulation. Nutrients and oxygen are carried to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a major part of this process.
If you’re a vegetarian or eat very little meat, it’s important that you consume enough plant-based iron. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.
Pennsylvania State University researchers examined more than 300,000 people. The researchers discovered participants with anemia (extreme iron deficiency) were two times as likely to experience sensorineural hearing loss as those without the condition. Sensorineural hearing loss is the scientific name for permanent hearing loss related to the aging process.
The inner ear has delicate hair cells that pick up sounds and communicate with the brain to transmit the volume and frequency of those sounds. If an iron deficiency or poor circulation causes these delicate hairs to die they will be gone forever.
Don’t wait to get a hearing test because you’re never too young. Reduce hearing loss by implementing these simple secrets in your everyday life.