Seems as if we’re constantly attempting to stay young. We spend countless hours undertaking everything we can to stay youthful. From special diets to fad workout programs to Botox to wrinkle creams. And yet, even with all that energy (and all those hours), the one thing that could actually work, we often avoid: wearing ear protection.
Hearing impairment is often one of those “signs of aging” that we often consider to be inevitable. But it’s not as simple as that. You can keep your hearing in great shape and help prevent damage by safeguarding and caring for your ears. And good hearing can have significant anti-aging effects as the years go on.
Hearing And Aging
The actual passing of time is not normally what we are making reference to when we speak of aging. Rather, “aging” typically describes the appearance of certain physical, mental, or emotional attributes that we associate with getting older. Joint pain is a perfect illustration of this. You may associate sore knees, for example, with “getting old”. But lifestyle has as much to do with this as does age.
Many types of hearing loss fall into this category. There’s an accumulation of damage as you age. And in most situations, it’s the accumulation of damage that causes the actual hearing degeneration. And that’s when things can begin to snowball. Untreated hearing loss has been related to several other signs of aging:
- When hearing problems are unnoticed and neglected they can often hasten the onset of other mental health problems, including dementia.
- Sometimes, problems such as insomnia and loss of memory, can be initiated by the cognitive strain of attempting to hear. And that can make you feel like you’re aging in an especially intense way.
- Untreated hearing loss could cause you to self-isolate from friends or family.
- Anxiety and depression have been shown to have a significant connection to hearing loss.
So How do I Overcome Age-Related Hearing Loss?
You’re really emphasizing damage prevention when you battle the “signs of aging” in your ears. And luckily, there are quite a few ways to achieve that. Here are a few things you can do:
- If you happen to work in a relatively noisy environment, wear ear protection. Current ear muffs have amazing technology that can let you hear voices clearly while eliminating loud, harmful environmental sounds.
- As much as you can, steer clear of loud noises. And when you can’t stay away from high volume places, use hearing protection. So when you go to that concert with your favorite band, be certain to use earplugs.
- Increase your awareness. It isn’t only the painfully loud sounds that can result in damage. Moderate sound for longer periods of time can cause injury to your ears, too.
Your ears can be protected by all of these steps. But there’s one more action you can take to keep your hearing in fighting shape: make an appointment with us for a hearing exam. Making certain you get hearing screenings with regular frequency can help you discover hearing loss before it’s even perceptible. Even if your hearing is perfectly fine, an exam will still be capable of providing a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Wear Hearing Aids to Keep Your Ears Healthy
We live in a noisy world. Even with your best effort to protect your hearing, you still might ultimately detect some hearing loss. If that’s the case, it’s vital that you seek help as soon as you can. Some of the age related issues linked to hearing loss can be prevented with a good pair of set aids.
Hearing aids can assist your hearing to function more youthfully, kind of like a facelift for your ears. And dementia, depression, and other issues can be avoided. The example isn’t perfect, as hearing aids are essential and a facelift isn’t, but you get the idea. Wrinkle creams might help you look younger. But your best choice, if want to feel younger, is to treat your hearing loss and protect your ears.
