It seems as if we’re constantly trying to stay youthful. From gym memberships to Botox to wrinkle cream to special diets, we spend a great number of hours every day doing what we can to slow down the aging process. And yet, even with all that energy (and all that time), we tend to avoid doing one simple thing that could actually work: protecting our ears.
The majority of people probably think of hearing loss as inevitable as we age. But it’s not that simple. You can keep your hearing in great condition and help avoid damage by protecting and caring for your ears. And as the years go on, strong hearing can have significant anti-aging advantages.
Aging And Hearing
The actual passage of time is not normally what we are describing when we talk about aging. Instead, “aging” typically refers to the presentation of certain physical, mental, or emotional characteristics that we associate with getting older. A perfect example of this is joint pain. When your knees begin to bother you, you might associate that with “growing old”. But lifestyle has as much to do with this as age does.
Many kinds of hearing loss are in this category. As you age, damage accumulates. And in most cases, it’s the accumulation of damage that causes the actual hearing deterioration. And it’s typically downhill from there. Several other signs of aging have been associated with hearing loss:
- Untreated hearing loss could cause you to isolate yourself from friends or family.
- When hearing impairments are undetected and neglected they can often accelerate the onset of other mental health problems, including dementia.
- Occasionally, problems like insomnia and loss of memory, can be initiated by the cognitive strain of attempting to hear. And, in an especially intense way, that can make you feel like you are getting old.
- Research has shown a robust link between untreated hearing loss, depression, and anxiety.
So How do I Combat Age-Related Hearing Loss?
You’re really emphasizing damage prevention when you battle the “signs of aging” in your ears. And it’s fortunate that we can achieve that in a number of ways. For instance, you can:
- Wear hearing protection to work if your job exposes you to loud noise. With modern high quality ear muffs, loud sounds are eliminated while voices are still able to be heard with clarity.
- As much as possible, avoid loud noises. And when you can’t stay away from high volume places, wear hearing protection. So when you go to that concert with your favorite band, be certain to wear earplugs.
- Boost your awareness. It’s not only the painfully loud noises that can cause harm. Your ears can also be injured by moderate noise if you are exposed to it for long time periods.
Your ears can be safeguarded by all of these steps. But there’s one more thing you can do to keep your ears in fighting condition: make an appointment with us for a hearing exam. Making sure you undergo hearing screenings regularly can help you catch hearing loss before it’s even recognizable. Even if your hearing is perfectly normal, a screening will still be able to provide a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Wear Hearing Aids to Keep Your Ears Healthy
The world we live in can be loud. Your ability to prevent damage is essential, but you may eventually detect some hearing loss in spite of your best efforts. If that’s the situation, it’s vital that you get help as soon as possible. A good set of hearing aids can help prevent some of the so-called age-related issues related to hearing impairments.
Hearing aids can help your ears function more youthfully, kind of like a facelift for your ears. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other problems from increasing. This analogy only goes so far since a facelift is cosmetic and hearing aids are necessary. You might look younger if you use wrinkle cream. But your best bet, if want to feel younger, is to take care of your hearing loss and safeguard your hearing.