Hearing Tips

Do you ever hear sounds that appear to come out of nowhere, such as buzzing, thumping, or crackling? It’s possible, if you wear hearing aids, they might need a fitting or need adjustment. But it might also be possible that, if you don’t have hearing aids, the sounds may be coming from your ears. There’s no need to panic. Even though we mostly think of our ears in terms of what they look like on the outside, there’s much more than what you see. Here are some of the more common noises you might hear inside your ears, and what they may indicate is going on. You should talk with a hearing specialist if any of these are lowering your quality of life or are irritating and persistent, though most are brief and harmless.

Crackling or Popping

When the pressure in your ears changes, whether from altitude, going underwater or just yawning, you could hear crackling or popping noises. These sounds are caused by a small part of your ear called the eustachian tube. When the mucus-lined passageway opens to allow air and fluid to pass, these crackling sounds are produced. At times this automatic process is disturbed by inflammation brought about by an ear infection or a cold or allergies that gum the ears up. Surgery is sometimes needed in extreme situations when the blockage isn’t helped by antibiotics or decongestants. If you’re suffering from lasting ear pain or pressure, you should probably consult a specialist.

Buzzing or Ringing is it Tinnitus?

Once more, if you have hearing aids, you may hear these kinds of sounds if they aren’t fitting properly in your ears, the volume is too high, or you have low batteries. If you aren’t wearing hearing aids, earwax may be the issue. Itchiness or even ear infections make sense when it comes to earwax, and it’s not unusual that it could make hearing challenging, but how could it create these sounds? If wax is touching your eardrum, it can restrict the eardrum’s ability to work properly, that’s what produces the buzzing or ringing. Thankfully, it’s easily solved: You can get the excess wax professionally removed. (This is not a DIY activity!) Excessive, prolonged ringing or buzzing is called tinnitus. There are several types of tinnitus including when it’s caused by earwax. Tinnitus is a symptom of some sort of health issue and is not itself a disorder or disease. Besides the buildup of wax, tinnitus can also be connected to depression and anxiety. Diagnosing and dealing with the fundamental health issue can help relieve tinnitus; talk to a hearing specialist to learn more.

Rumbling

This one’s not so prevalent, and if you can hear it, you’re the one causing the sound to happen! Do you know that rumbling you can sometimes hear when you take a really big yawn? There are tiny muscles in the ear that contract in order to minimize the internal volume of certain natural actions such as your own voice or chewing or yawning, It’s the contraction of these muscles in reaction to these natural noises that we hear as rumbling. We’re not suggesting you chew too noisily, it’s just that those noises are so close to your ears that without these muscles, the noise level would be damaging. (But talking and chewing not to mention yawning are not something we can stop doing, it’s lucky we have these little muscles.) These muscles can be controlled by some people, although it’s quite rare, they’re called tensor tympani, and they can produce that rumble at will.

Pulsing or Thumping

If you occasionally feel like you’re hearing your heartbeat inside your ears, you’re most likely right. Some of the body’s biggest veins are extremely close to your ears, and if you have an elevated heart rate, whether from that big job interview or a hard workout, your ears will detect the sound of your pulse. This is called pulsatile tinnitus, and unlike other types of tinnitus, it’s one that not just you hear, if you go to see a hearing expert, they will be able to hear it as well. If you’re dealing with pulsatile tinnitus but your pulse is not racing, you need to consult a professional because that’s not normal. Like other kinds of tinnitus, pulsatile tinnitus isn’t a disease, it’s a symptom; there are likely health problems if it persists. Because your heart rate should go back to normal and you should stop hearing it after your workout when your heart rate goes back to normal.

What’s the point of using hearing aids? More than likely it’s to hear better, right? Naturally, that will be most people’s reaction. Aiding your hearing is what a hearing aid is made to do.

But could there be an even more relevant reason? We use them so we won’t lose touch with the people around us…so we can not only hear discussions, but also take part in them. Hearing aids help us make sure we don’t miss the punchline of a joke, the key lines of our favorite show, or our favorite music.

Put another way, there are a variety of advantages, under-appreciated benefits, that come with using your hearing aids. And those less acknowledged advantages may be the distinction between wearing your hearing aids on a daily basis or keeping them hidden away in a drawer somewhere. So we can be sure that these benefits deserve to be emphasized.

Clearer Sound

So it’s not just that your hearing aid makes things louder. They also make the sound clearer. The reason for this is that your hearing doesn’t decline evenly: you may lose some frequencies in one ear before you lose those same frequencies in the other ear. So a hearing aid will make the sounds around you clearer and easier to understand.

Depending on the room your in and its natural sound properties, modern hearing aids can be adjusted or even self-adjust to compensate. In order to allow you to hear more clearly, hearing aids precisely boost the volume of select frequencies and leave others alone.

Social Life That is More Dynamic And Enriching

The huge benefit is that if you can hear the sounds near you more intelligibly, you will feel more secure participating in social pursuits. Consider it this way: when you’re incapable of following the discussion at a packed (and noisy) restaurant, you’re less likely to jump in with a joke. But you will know exactly when to spring your funny retort when your hearing is clear and crisp and so are the voices around you.

Social situation become exhausting when you don’t need to keep asking people to repeat themselves and voices sound crisper and clearer; Instead, enjoying social situations is something you can do once again.

Improved Concentration

When you’re having a hard time hearing, a large portion of your mental effort is committed to one activity: making sense of the mess. You have to divert such a large amount of your brainpower towards making sense of garbled or partial audio information that your general concentration is impacted. So when your hearing aids are functioning accurately, you can find yourself concentrating with far greater ease, whether you’re doing your taxes, listening to the news, or watching TV.

You Will be Safer

A greater risk of falling is recorded in those who have neglected hearing loss. There are two ways that hearing aids can help with fall protection. Stopping falls from the beginning is the primary one. When you’re able to concentrate better (and, therefore, you’re less mentally fatigued), it’s much easier to move your feet around without tripping on something. The next example is when a person experiences a fall, the automated technology in the hearing aid triggers. This technology can be simply configured to get in touch with friends, family, or emergency services if a fall happens.

An Increase in Cognitive Awareness

When you wear hearing aids, it’s not simply your focus that improves. Your overall mental health improves, as well. When you start to separate yourself because you’re having a difficult time hearing, a complicated process of brain degeneration begins to occur. A hearing aid can help preserve countless mental cognitive functions, meaning your self esteem, mood and mental health might all benefit from wearing your hearing aids.

Why Not Get Results Sooner Rather Than Later?

So if you’ve noticed that your hearing has begun to decline, there’s very little to gain from taking a slow approach. Both quick and also long term benefits are given by hearing aids. So call our hearing care specialists and get a hearing examination right away.

Summer is finally here, and it’s time for all those things we’ve been getting excited about: swimming in the pool, visiting the beach, and a few activities that could harm your hearing. That’s right, summer holds a lot of unseen risks to your hearing, either from loud sounds or the external scenarios you may find yourself in. Any sounds above 80 decibels could hurt your hearing, while swimming in pools or other bodies of water can result in permanent hearing loss. To keep your ears safeguarded this summer, you need to be mindful of your surroundings and take precautions. Here are 6 of the summer’s concealed hearing risks.

When You go to Concerts, Use Ear Protection

Whether you’re at an indoor venue or an outside concert venue you still need to use hearing protection during live music. Concerts can reach that are over 90 decibels, even at outside concerts, which is within the danger zone of hearing loss. That’s why it’s always a smart strategy to use earplugs whether you’re seeing a concert indoors or outdoors. You can still hear the music with earplugs it’s just dampened a little bit. If you’re going to a concert with young kids, consider buying them a heavy duty pair of earmuffs since their ears are much more delicate than those of adults.

Loud Fireworks Can Damage Your

Honestly, there are a lot of reasons to avoid fireworks in the summer. We’re not talking about the specialized 4th of July fireworks show, we mean the backyard fireworks which every summer season cause many of injuries. Home fireworks achieve decibel levels of over 155 which can injure your ears on top of causing hand problems, blindness and home fires. This 4th of July, leave the fireworks to the professionals and enjoy the show from a safe and sound distance.

Loss of Hearing Can be Caused by Lawnmowers

If you love to take care of your lawn, mower, edger, and trimer are your best friends. But the muffled feeling in your ears is an indication that your ears have taken damage. That’s because the lawn tools, which are constantly loud, impact your hearing over time. If you’ve ever noticed lawn care pro’s, it is likely you have noticed them utilizing ear protection, next time you do yard work with loud power equipment, you should take a cue from them and wear earplugs or earmuffs.

How to Protect Your Hearing When You’re at Pools And Beaches

Millions of people suffer from swimmer’s ear every summer, which happens when the ear canal traps water that is high in bacteria. Swelling and painful earaches are the result when the bacteria infects the ear. It’s not only lakes and rivers that contain these bacteria, they can also be found in pools and hot tubs if they are not cleaned and treated thoroughly. As long as you have your ears treated by a hearing expert you will probably be fine, and no lasting loss of hearing will occur. To protect against swimmer’s ear, however, you will want to wear special swimming earplugs in the pool and get your pool water tested to make certain the chemical balance is safe.

Water Sports And Boats

Summer is a breath of freedom for those who love to be out on the water, smelling the salt air of the ocean or the fresh breeze of the lake. But, jet ski and boat engines can be loud,they can get up to over 100 decibels. Lasting hearing injury can be the result after about 15 minutes of exposure to that much noise. In this circumstance also, using a set of throw away foam earplugs is a smart idea.

Car Races Can Injure Your Ears

It doesn’t matter what kind of auto racing you like, midget, Formula 1, drag racing, motorcycle Formula 1. If you go to a lot of auto-races this summer, they all pose a risk. 120 dB is well within the danger zone for hearing damage and quite a few races go well above this. As pointed out earlier, your kids should use muffs while you should use earplugs at the very least. Otherwise, you might not get to enjoy the sound of those engines in the future.

Aging is one of the most common hearing loss clues and let’s face it, as hard as we might try, we can’t stop aging. But were you aware hearing loss has also been connected to health concerns that are treatable, and in some cases, preventable? Here’s a look at several cases that will surprise you.

1: Diabetes

Over 5,000 American adults were evaluated in a 2008 study which revealed that diabetes diagnosed individuals were two times as likely to have some amount of hearing loss when analyzed with low or mid-frequency sounds. Impairment was also more probable with high-frequency sounds, but not as extreme. It was also determined by investigators that people who struggled with high blood sugar levels but not high enough to be diagnosed with diabetes, in other words, pre-diabetic, were 30 percent more likely to suffer from hearing loss than people with healthy blood sugar. A more recent 2013 meta-study (yup, a study of studies) determined that the connection between hearing loss and diabetes was consistent, even while controlling for other variables.

So the association between hearing loss and diabetes is pretty well established. But why should you be at higher danger of getting diabetes simply because you suffer from loss of hearing? The reason isn’t really well known. Diabetes is linked to a wide variety of health issues, and particularly, the eyes, extremities and kidneys can be harmed physically. One hypothesis is that the condition might impact the ears in a similar way, harming blood vessels in the inner ear. But general health management may be the culprit. A 2015 study underscored the connection between diabetes and loss of hearing in U.S veterans, but most notably, it discovered that those with unchecked diabetes, in other words, that those with untreated and uncontrolled diabetes, it discovered, suffered more. If you are concerned that you might be pre-diabetic or are suffering from undiagnosed diabetes, it’s necessary to speak to a doctor and get your blood sugar evaluated. By the same token, if you’re having problems hearing, it’s a smart idea to get it checked out.

2: Falling

You could have a bad fall. It’s not exactly a health issue, because it isn’t vertigo but it can lead to many other difficulties. Research carried out in 2012 revealed a strong link between the danger of falling and loss of hearing though you may not have suspected that there was a relationship between the two. Evaluating a trial of over 2,000 adults ages 40 to 69, scientists found that for every 10 dB increase in hearing loss (for reference, normal breathing is about 10 dB), the risk of falling increased 1.4X. This connection held up even for individuals with mild hearing loss: Within the previous twelve months individuals who had 25 dB of hearing loss were more likely to have fallen than individuals with normal hearing.

Why would you fall because you are having trouble hearing? There are quite a few reasons why hearing problems can lead to a fall aside from the role your ears play in balance. Though this research didn’t go into what was the cause of the subject’s falls, the authors believed that having problems hearing what’s around you (and missing an important sound such as a car honking) may be one issue. But if you’re having difficulties paying attention to sounds near you, your split attention means you might not be paying attention to your physical environment and that may end up in a fall. The good news here is that managing hearing loss may possibly reduce your risk of suffering a fall.

3: High Blood Pressure

Several studies (such as this one from 2018) have shown that loss of hearing is connected to high blood pressure and some (including this 2013 study) have observed that high blood pressure could actually quicken age-related hearing loss. It’s a connection that’s been seen rather consistently, even while controlling for variables such as noise exposure and whether you’re a smoker. Gender is the only variable that appears to matter: The link betweenhearing loss and high blood pressure, if your a male, is even stronger.

Your ears are quite closely related to your circulatory system: Two main arteries are very near to the ears not to mention the little blood vessels inside them. This is one explanation why individuals who have high blood pressure often suffer from tinnitus, the pulsing they’re hearing is actually their own blood pumping. (That’s why this kind of tinnitus is called pulsatile tinnitus; it’s your pulse your hearing.) The leading theory for why high blood pressure could speed up loss of hearing is that high blood pressure can also cause permanent injury to your ears. Each beat has more force if your heart is pumping harder. The smaller blood vessels in your ears could potentially be damaged by this. High blood pressure is controllable, through both lifestyle changes and medical interventions. But if you suspect you’re suffering from loss of hearing even if you believe you’re too young for the age-related stuff, it’s a good move to consult a hearing care professional.

4: Dementia

Hearing loss might put you at higher risk of dementia. 2013 research from Johns Hopkins University that was documented after almost 2,000 individuals in their 70’s over the course of six years found that the chance of cognitive impairment increased by 24% with only mild hearing loss (about 25 dB, or slightly louder than a whisper). A 2011 study by the same researchers which followed subjects over more than ten years found that the worse a subject’s hearing was, the more probably it was that they would develop dementia. (They also uncovered a similar connection to Alzheimer’s Disease, even though it was less substantial.) Based on these conclusions, moderate hearing loss puts you at 3 times the risk of someone who doesn’t have hearing loss; severe hearing loss nearly quintuples one’s risk.

It’s alarming stuff, but it’s significant to recognize that while the link between loss of hearing and cognitive decline has been well documented, researchers have been less successful at sussing out why the two are so strongly linked. A common theory is that having trouble hearing can cause people to avoid social interactions, and that social isolation and lack of mental stimulation can be incapacitating. Another theory is that loss of hearing overloads your brain. In other words, because your brain is putting so much of its recourses into comprehending the sounds around you, you may not have very much energy left for remembering things such as where you left your keys. Staying in close communication with friends and family and doing crosswords or brain games could help here, but so can dealing with hearing loss. Social circumstances become much more overwhelming when you are contending to hear what people are saying. So if you are coping with loss of hearing, you need to put a plan of action in place including getting a hearing exam.

If you own eyeglasses, you recognize you still need to see your eye doctor every year, right? Due to the fact that, with time, your eyes can change. Your eyes and all parts of your body are dynamic not static and this includes your ears. That’s the reason why, just like you do with your eyes, it’s essential to keep having your ears checked even after you get a set of hearing aids.

Unfortunately, many people miss those regular checkups. It’s easy to overlook going in to consult with your hearing care specialist because you’ve been occupied with enjoying life. Or maybe lately, work has been stressful. You could even be so happy with your hearing aids that you just didn’t think you need to make another appointment. That seems like it should be a positive thing, right?

For the majority of individuals with hearing damage, even one reexamination appointment becomes almost more important over time. However, lots of people disregard regular treatment. According to one survey, only 33% of seniors with hearing aids also used regular hearing services.

Once You Get Hearing Aids, is it Actually Necessary to go Back For Checkups?

Your hearing is not static. It changes over time. It’s significant to adjust the hearing aids to counter those changes. Concerns can be recognized early and your hearing aids can be tweaked accordingly.

And that isn’t even the only reason why it could be a smart idea to keep routine checkups with a hearing professional once you have your hearing aids. Some of the most prevalent reasons to assure you show up to your next appointment consist of:

• Hearing aid calibration: There might be need for yearly calibration of your hearing aids based on small changes in your hearing despite the stability of your overall hearing. Your hearing aids might gradually become less effective if you don’t get this kind of calibration.
• Hearing decline: Even if you use a hearing aid, your hearing might continue to deteriorate. If this deterioration is happening over a long period of time, you probably won’t know it’s occurring without the aid of a hearing screening. Hearing decline can often be slowed with appropriate alterations to your hearing aids.

It’s essential to get your hearing aids cleaned professionally occasionally in addition to monitoring changes in your hearing. We can help make certain your hearing aid is operating the way it should, clean all the little parts and keep it in optimum condition.

The Danger of Not Following up With Regular Check-Ups

The greatest worry, here, is that over time, the hearing aids will stop working the way they’re intended to, so you’ll become irritated with them and stop wearing them altogether. Wearing hearing aids helps you hear better, of course, but it also impacts your overall health. You might not recognize it right away, but your hearing could decline faster if you discontinue wearing your hearing aids. Increased risk of hearing accidents, along with mental decline, have been connected to hearing loss.

If you really want your hearing aids to continue working at an optimal level, normal examinations are going to be your best bet with regards to accomplishing that. In order to make sure your hearing aids are functioning as they should be you should get annual hearing examinations. So schedule your hearing appointment now.

People who work in loud surroundings like construction sites or at heavy metal concerts are not the only ones affected by noise related loss of hearing. It doesn’t even have to be work-related, recreation-related noise exposure can be harmful, too. The most prevalent kind? Music, gaming, streaming video or anything else that you would listen to through earbuds or headphones.

You might be alarmed to find out that a mobile device can get that loud. But these devices can achieve sustained volumes of over 105 dB, which is near the normal human pain threshold. Your ears will actually start to feel pain at this volume. So what’s the answer for safeguarding your hearing against volume related damage.

It’s significant here to think about the volume. A quick shorthand that’s widely recommended is the 60/60 rule: Listen with the volume at or below 60% for no more than 60 minutes at a stretch (because the length of sound exposure matters, too).

Your Hearing Aids Can be Set up For Music

Make sure, if you’re utilizing hearing aids, you don’t try to drown out other noises by turning your streaming music up too high. Also, consult us about how to best listen to music. Hearing aids aren’t designed to increase the quality of music like they do with voices so if really like music, you might have noticed this. While listening to music, we can most likely make a few modifications to help enhance the quality of sound and reduce the feedback.

How to Pick The Right Headphones

When shopping for headphones there are lots of choices, specifically if you use hearing aids. There are a few things to consider, though it’s largely a matter of personal preference.

Over-the-Ear Headphones

Over the ear headphones are becoming popular again but you probably won’t see the old foam covered ear pieces that used to come with a walkman. Often surprisingly costly, they offer a large variety of color possibilities and celebrity endorsements, and of course, better sound quality. And these headphones go over the whole ear blocking unwanted sound, unlike those old foam ones.

Main-stream wisdom is that these are safer than in-ear headphones because the source of the sound is further away from your eardrum. But because the speakers are bigger they are often capable of much higher sound level. Additionally, noise-canceling may help you ignore the crying baby on your flight, but in other circumstances, it can silence sounds you should hear (such as a honking car). That said, because they block out outside noise, you can often reduce the volume of what you’re listening to so it’s not loud enough to cause damage to your ears.

Earbuds

The standard earbuds that come with devices such as iPhones are much maligned for their inferior quality of sound, although lots of people still use them because hey, they were included with the phone. Especially, with newer Apple phones, it’s just easier to use the earbuds which came with the device because it most likely doesn’t have a headphone jack.

Earbuds also don’t cancel out noise so the drawback is, you have a tendency to crank up the sound level. It’s commonly thought that placing earbuds so close to your eardrum is the main problem but it’s actually the volume.

Noise Canceling Earbuds

More comfortable than ordinary earbuds, models with a round rubber tip are the choice of many because they help stop outside noise. The rubber molds to the shape of your ear, creating a seal that blocks other sounds from getting in. Not to sound like a broken record, but these have the same disadvantages as the other two (volume is the main problem), as well as carrying the same caution as over-the-ear headphones (they can block out warning sounds). Obviously, these won’t work for you if you have hearing aids.

You may need to test out quite a few pairs before you find headphones that meet your specifications. Depending on what you’re most often using them for talking on the phone, say, versus listening to music, you’ll have different acoustic expectations. Listening to your tunes at a healthy volume and coming across headphones that help you do that is the key.

Don’t Cut Corners When Dealing With Your Hearing

Is it Safe, How Can I be Sure? If you use a smartphone, you can get an app for that, you can get the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s free Sound Level Meter app. You can get different apps, but research has discovered that the reliability of these other apps is hit-and-miss (in addition, for unknown reasons, Android-based apps have proven less reliable). That motivated NIOSH to create an app of their own. The app allows you to measure external noises, but you can also measure the sound coming from your device’s speakers, so you will find out exactly how much volume your ears are getting. You have to do a little work, but putting in place these types of protective steps can help protect your hearing.

Taking care of your loss of hearing can be good for your brain. At least, that’s according to a new study by a team of researchers out of the University of Manchester. These analysts considered a group of more than 2000 participants over the course of approximately 2 decades (1996 to 2014). The attention-getting conclusions? Dementia can be slowed by up to 75% by dealing with hearing loss.

That is not an insignificant figure.

Nevertheless, it’s not really that surprising. That’s not to detract from the weight of the finding, of course, this is an important statistical connection between the battle against cognitive decline and the treatment of hearing loss. But it coordinates well with what we already know: as you age, it’s essential to treat your loss of hearing if you want to slow down dementia.

What Does This Research on Dementia Mean For me?

Scientific research can be perplexing and contradictory (should I eat eggs, should I not eat eggs? How about wine? Will drinking wine help me live longer?). The reasons for that are long, varied, and not really that pertinent to our topic here. The main point here is: this new research is yet another piece of evidence that suggests neglected hearing loss can result in or exacerbate mental decline including dementia.

So what does this mean for you? In some ways, it’s pretty straight forward: you should come see us immediately if you’ve observed any loss of hearing. And, if you require a hearing aid, you need to definitely start using that hearing aid as advised.

When You Use Them Correctly, Hearing Aids Can Forestall Dementia

Unfortunately, not everybody falls directly into the practice of wearing a prescribed pair of hearing aids. Some of the reasons why are:

• The way that the hearing aid is advertised to work, doesn’t seem to be the way it’s currently working. Many people need to have their settings adjusted, and calibration problems are definitely something that can be addressed by our hearing specialists.
• How hearing aids look concerns you. Today, we have lots of designs available which might surprise you. Plus, many hearing aid models are manufactured to be very discreet.
• The hearing aid isn’t feeling like it fits very well. If you are having this issue, please let us know. They can fit better and we’re here to help.
• Peoples voices are difficult to make out. In many cases, it takes time for your brain to adapt to recognizing voices again. There are some things we can recommend, including reading along with an audiobook, that can help make this process easier.

Your future mental faculties and even your overall health are obviously impacted by wearing hearing aids. We can help if you’re struggling with any of the above. At times the answer will take patience and time, but working with your hearing professional to make sure your hearing aids are working for you is a part of the process.

It’s more significant than ever to deal with your hearing loss specifically in the light of the new evidence. Take the treatment seriously because hearing aids are safeguarding your hearing and your mental health.

Dementia And Hearing Aids, What’s The Connection?, What’s The Relationship?

So why are these two health conditions hearing loss and dementia even linked to begin with? Social isolation is the prominent theory but experts are not completely sure. Some people, when faced with hearing loss, become less socially involved. A different theory refers to sensory stimulation. Over time, if a person loses sensory stimulation, like hearing loss, the brain gets less activity which then causes cognitive decline.

You hear better with a hearing aid. Providing a natural safeguard for your brain against cognitive decline and helping to keep your brain active. That’s why dealing with hearing loss can slow dementia by as much as 75% percent and why it shouldn’t be surprising that there is a link between the two.

It’s well recognized, that over time, eating way too much will be detrimental to your health. Obesity is related to several health issues. You can add hearing loss to diabetes, high cholesterol, and heart disease as a possible problem. It’s estimated that roughly 48 million people in the U . S ., approximately 20% of the nation’s population, suffer from loss of hearing, and roughly twice that number of adults, 93 million, are obese. Throughout the country, these surprising statistics point to a serious health problem.

What is The Connection Between Loss of Hearing And Obesity?

Numerous studies have shown that there’s a link between being overweight and loss of hearing. Specifically what that link is, is still being studied, it’s believed that hearing loss and obesity have a relationship because the circulatory system is impacted. Additionally, hearing loss is linked to high blood pressure and diabetes which are recognized to be associated with being overweight.

Our inner ears are filled with tiny hairs that detect sound in the ear. So that they can function effectively, these tiny hairs, called stereocilia, need a steady blood flow. Obesity restricts the blood flow throughout the body since, so that it can keep the blood flowing throughout the body, the heart must do more work, which means that there is less than ideal amount of blood flow supplied to your ear. This can irreversibly injury the ears. Because each of these illnesses effect the flow of blood, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure affect the inner ear in a similar way.

Keeping your weight under control is especially worthwhile as you age since age-related hearing loss and a high index of fat mass are also related. Your body’s metabolism can’t work as well or as fast as it once did, which is the reason why you should attempt to stick with healthy habits that you formed when you were younger.

A healthy diet and exercise are excellent for your general health and your ears.

Solutions For Obesity-Associated Loss of Hearing

It’s a possibility that you might not be able to recover your lost hearing if it’s triggered by obesity, still, it’s always best to have your hearing evaluated to determine the magnitude of your loss of hearing. If the injury is permanent, you may require a hearing aid or other device to start hearing correctly again.

If the damage is not that severe, you may want to consult your physician about developing an exercise and diet program to reduce the effect your weight has on your well being before it gets any worse. Your doctor should set up a cardio intensive exercise routine that will get your blood pumping and improve your general health. There will be, more than likely, other improvements in your life also, like mental health, since regular exercise will reduce depression according to many studies.

Obesity-Related Hearing Loss, How to Stop it

A healthy diet and a regular exercise campaign are required to avoiding obesity-related disorders like heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Your ears will certainly be kept in superior shape if you keep your body healthy. One way to get started is a consultation with a nutritionist who can help develop a plan that’s personalized for you and is targeted on assisting you to attain your goals. The nutritionist can make certain you’re eating the best mixture of nutrients in healthy foods, foods that have plenty of iron, for instance, since, you guessed it, a lack of iron in your diet can result in tinnitus and cause hearing loss.

Learn more about hearing loss and how you can hear better with the correct treatment.

Earplugs can be practical if you’re exposed to loud noises, like, something as simple as a snoring spouse, or a lawnmower in your backyard, or going to an arena to see a concert. Turning down the volume is the way earplugs help in the first two situations. They assist in saving your sanity and possibly even your relationships, in the last case, by enabling you to get a good night’s sleep. But are your ears being harmed by these protectors?

Why Use Earplugs in The First Place?

It’s a pretty simple case for using earplugs: When used properly, earplugs can help to safeguard your ears by reducing your exposure to extreme decibel levels. Maybe you’ve noticed that your hearing sounds different when you leave a loud venue, for instance, a football game with a noisy crowd, and you might also experience symptoms of tinnitus. Those little hairs are bent by this type of noise exposure and that’s why this happens. In a day or two, when the hairs have recovered, it generally goes back to normal.

But in many instances, there is a constant assault on those little hairs, especially if you work in a high volume industry like the music business or around jet planes. As opposed to recovering after bending, the cells are permanently injured. There are just about 16,000 of those little cells inside each cochlea, but up to 50% of them can be damaged or destroyed before your hearing has changed enough for the problem to show up in a hearing test.

Is it Possible That Your Hearing Could be Harmed by Earplugs?

With all that, you’d think that using earplugs would be a no-brainer in terms of protecting your ears. But particularly if you’re in scenarios where you’re exposed to loud noises all the time (like on the job or when your spouse snores as mentioned), over-the-head earmuffs or noise-reducing (but not completely stopping) headphones are a smarter option. Earplugs aren’t the best choice for day to day use but are better suited to one time events such as a concert or sporting events.

Why? The first problem is, earwax. In order to protect themselves, your ears produce earwax, and if you’re constantly wearing earplugs, more earwax will be generated, and you probably will push it in with the plugs. This can cause issues such as impacted earwax, which can trigger tinnitus and other hearing concerns.

Ear infections can be another problem for those who use earplugs. If you frequently use the same pair, and you don’t clean them properly between uses, they can become bacteria traps. Ear infections are, at the very least, a painful annoyance. But at the negative end of the spectrum, they can also cause a loss of hearing if left untreated.

How Can You Use Earplugs Safely?

Whether it’s a good night sleep or protecting your hearing, there’s still a strong upside to using earplugs. You just have to be sure you’re using the proper kind and using them the correct way. The porous material of foam earplugs is a germ paradise so it’s a good thing that they are the least costly. Wax or silicone earplugs are reusable, but you need to keep them sanitized, wash them with warm water and mild soap to cleanse them, and you shouldn’t put them back in your ears until they’re thoroughly dry. It’s also a good idea to store earplugs in a well ventilated place to prevent moisture, or worse, bacteria or mold, from building up.

You might want to talk to us about custom fit earplugs if you need or want them frequently. These are constructed from unique molds of your ears, they’re reusable and since they’re fitted to your ears, comfortable. But it’s essential not to forget, smart earplug hygiene can stop hearing damage.

About half of those over 70 and one in three U.S. adults are affected by age related loss of hearing. But despite its prevalence, only around 30% of older Americans who suffer from hearing loss have ever used hearing aids (and for those under the age of 60, the number falls to 16%!). Dependant upon whose data you look at, there are at least 20 million Americans who suffer from untreated loss of hearing; though some reports put this closer to 30 million.

As people get older, they neglect getting treatment for loss of hearing for a number of considerations. (One study found that only 28% of people even had their hearing examined, even though they reported suffering from loss of hearing, much less sought additional treatment. For some folks, it’s just like wrinkles or gray hair, a normal part of growing old. Loss of hearing has long been easy to diagnose, but due to the significant advancements that have been accomplished in the technology of hearing aids, it’s also a very treatable condition. n\Notably, more than only your hearing can be improved by managing hearing loss, according to a growing body of data.

A recent study from a research group based at Columbia University, adds to the body of knowledge linking hearing loss and depression.
They give each subject an audiometric hearing test and also examine them for signs of depression. After correcting for a number of factors, the analysts discovered that the odds of showing clinically substantial signs of depression climbed by around 45% for every 20-decibel increase in loss of hearing. And to be clear, 20 dB is very little noise. It’s quieter than a whisper, approximately on par with the sound of rustling leaves.

It’s amazing that such a tiny difference in hearing produces such a big boost in the odds of suffering from depression, but the basic link isn’t shocking. This new study adds to the sizable established literature connecting hearing loss and depression, like this multi-year analysis from 2000 which found that hearing loss got worse in relation to a declining of mental health, or this study from 2014 that revealed that both people who reported having problems hearing and who were discovered to have hearing loss based on hearing examinations had a substantially higher chance of depression.

Here’s the good news: the link that researchers think exists between loss of hearing and depression isn’t biological or chemical, it’s social. Regular conversations and social scenarios are generally avoided due to anxiety due to problems hearing. Social alienation can be the result, which further feeds into feelings of depression and anxiety. It’s a cycle that is easily broken despite the fact that it’s a horrible one.

The symptoms of depression can be relieved by treating loss of hearing with hearing aids according to several studies. More than 1,000 people in their 70s were examined in a 2014 study that revealing that individuals who used hearing aids were significantly less more likely to have symptoms of depression, though the writers did not define a cause-and-effect relationship since they were not looking at data over time.

But other research that’s followed subjects before and after getting hearing aids re-affirms the theory that treating hearing loss can help alleviate symptoms of depression. Even though this 2011 study only checked a small cluster of people, 34 people total, the researchers discovered that after three months using hearing aids, all of them displayed considerable progress in both depressive symptoms and cognitive functioning. Another minor study from 2012 found the exact same outcomes even further out, with every single person six months out from starting to use hearing aids, were continuing to experience less depression. And in a study from 1992 that looked at a larger cluster of U.S. military veterans suffering from loss of hearing discovered that a full 12 months after starting to use hearing aids, fewer symptoms of depression were experienced by the vets.

Loss of hearing is tough, but you don’t have to experience it by yourself. Get in touch with us for a hearing examination today.