Everyone wants to stay youthful for as long as possible. From gym memberships to Botox to wrinkle cream to special diets, we spend countless hours every day doing what we can to slow down the aging process. Still, with all that time and effort, the one thing that may actually work, we often avoid: wearing ear protection.
Many people most likely think of hearing loss as inevitable as we get older. But it’s not as simple as that. You can keep your hearing in great condition and help avoid damage by protecting and caring for your ears. And great hearing can have considerable anti-aging effects as time goes by.
Hearing And Aging
When we discuss “aging” we don’t usually mean the actual passage of time. Rather, “aging” typically refers to the presentation of certain emotional, mental, or physical characteristics that we link to getting older. A good example of this is pain in your joints. You may relate sore knees, for example, with “getting old”. But it’s not age by itself that leads to the issue (your everyday 5-mile run could have something to do with it, also).
The same is true of many kinds of hearing loss. As you get older, damage accumulates. The build-up of damage, in most instances, is the real cause of hearing deterioration. And that’s when the problems can start to snowball. Untreated hearing loss has been linked to a number of other signs of aging:
- In some cases, the mental strain involved in attempting to hear can lead to problems like loss of memory or insomnia. And, in a particularly profound way, that can cause you to feel like you are getting old.
- Untreated hearing loss could cause you to isolate yourself from family or friends.
- The onset of mental issues, including dementia, can often be accelerated by ignored or undetected hearing loss.
- Anxiety and depression have been shown to have a strong link to hearing loss.
So How do I Fight Age-Related Hearing Loss?
You’re actually emphasizing damage prevention when you battle the “signs of aging” in your ears. And it’s fortunate that we can accomplish that in a number of ways. Here are a few things you can do:
- Wear hearing protection to work if your job exposes you to loud noise. With modern quality ear muffs, loud noises are filtered out while you can still hear people talking clearly.
- As much as you can, avoid loud noises. If you need to expose yourself to loud noise, use hearing protection. So when you go see that concert with your favorite band, be certain to wear earplugs.
- Become more aware. It isn’t just the painfully loud sounds that can lead to damage. Your ears can also be damaged by moderate noise if you are exposed to it for long periods of time.
Your ears can be protected by all of these steps. But if you want to keep your hearing in good shape you can do one more thing: make an appointment with us for a hearing exam. Making certain you get hearing tests with regular frequency can help you catch hearing loss before it’s even recognizable. You should still get an exam even if your hearing is fine so that you can have a standard to compare against in the future.
Wear Hearing Aids to Keep Your Ears Healthy
We live in a loud world. Despite your best effort to take care of your hearing, you still might eventually detect some hearing loss. You need to seek out help right away if you do notice any symptoms of hearing loss. A good set of hearing aids can help lessen some of the so-called age-related concerns related to hearing impairments.
You can maybe think of hearing aids as a facelift for your ears: something to make your ears to perform a little more youthfully. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other problems at bay. This example only goes so far since a facelift is cosmetic and hearing aids are necessary. You may look younger if you use wrinkle cream. But if you really want to combat aging and feel somewhat more youthful, your best bet is to protect your ears and take care of your hearing loss.