July 19, 2014

Preventing Hearing Loss

Although there are many ways that affect our hearing, there are also many ways to prevent our hearing from further damage.

Early Rehabilitation

Our hearing naturally deteriorates. On-going hearing screening, early detection and early rehabilitation (if required) is important for managing hearing weakness. This will reduce the hearing from straining and is possibly one form of preventing hearing loss.

Trauma to the ears

The saying "never put anything smaller than your elbow" is an oldie but a goodie. At the clinic, I am constantly seeing clients who have hurt their ear drum by using cotton tips. Realistically, cotton tips compact ear wax deeper and makes it harder for wax removal. If you suffer from severe irritations in the canals, it is recommended to seek advice from a medical practitioner. 

Avoid loud noises

As natural aging is one cause that affects our hearing, however the majority of our hearing loss is caused by loud noises. Just 30 minutes with a chainsaw or 7 minutes from a rock concert can damage our hearing. So it is important to use hearing protection where possible.

Just remember, how much sound exposure did you get today? It all adds up. 

How loud is too loud?

Decibel (dB) is a unit used to measure the loudness of sounds. Noise-induced hearing damage is related to the duration and volume of exposure.

Risk of hearing damage