Hearing Center: How to Protect Your Ears

As with your eyes, heart, and any other part of your body, you only get one set of ears. Sure, science has come a long way, and a hearing center can provide some ingenious solutions to auditory impairment. But nothing in modern medicine or technology can replace your natural senses in quite the same way. It makes sense to do everything you can to protect what you have. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to protect your ability to hear. Still, millions of Americans don't bother. If you want to be able to hear as well in thirty years as you do today, here are some steps you can take. Protection When you hear someone say, "Wear protection," your ears probably aren't the first thing that come to mind. Unfortunately, we don't put a lot of emphasis in our society on avoiding extreme noise levels. In fact, we generally have almost no idea what "extreme" means when it comes to volume. Whether you're exposed to noise pollution at work, through entertainment, or in any other situation, you should be prepared. Use earplugs and turn the volume down on your music. Any hearing center in the country sees people come through the doors every day with auditory loss that could have easily been avoided. Get Checked Don't just guess that your ability to hear hasn't been compromised. Gradual auditory loss can be very difficult to pinpoint. You may not even notice that you've begun to ask your friends to repeat themselves more often, or that you've gradually turned up the volume on the television. If you are experiencing auditory dysfunction, you should know about it as soon as possible. That doesn't mean you need to run out to the nearest hearing center and get a listening aid. But if you are experiencing loss, there is probably a reason for it. If you know that something is hurting your ability to hear, you can take steps to make sure it doesn't happen any more. Don't Put Things In Your Ears Children, especially, think it is funny to stick quarters, gum wrappers, and other items into their ears. As an adult, you may be thinking, "Well, it's safe to say I would never do that." Maybe you never would. But you may be doing things that are just as dangerous. Do you use a Q-Tip? If you clean your ears with a cotton swab of any kind, are you careful to never go beyond the very outer swirls of your ear? Going deeper into the canal can be a recipe for disaster (and the benefits simply don't warrant the risk). Keep foreign objects (other than ear plugs specifically designed for that use) out of your ears.