3 Everyday Things You Might Do That Can Affect Your Hearing

Most people consider hearing loss to be an age-related issue or something that happens because of a sudden loud blast or injury to the ear drum. However, your hearing is a sense that is far more delicate than you probably realize. In fact, many people who show up for a hearing test with an audiologist have no idea why they are unable to hear as well as they once did. The truth is, there are probably things you do almost every day that affect how well you can hear. Check out these three things that you may do that affect your hearing.

You eat a great deal of salt with your food. 

High amounts of sodium are simply no good for your body. Salt can actually restrict blood vessels when eaten in large quantities. This restriction in blood vessels can have negative effects on how you feel and on your body in general. Specifically, blood vessel restriction can change your blood pressure, and blood pressure has an affect on how well you can hear. So if you have noticed a major change in your sense of hearing, start paying a little more attention to the sodium content in your food, as this could be the guilty culprit. 

You smoke cigarettes. 

There are a few reasons why smoking affects your sense of hearing. For one, smoking elevates your blood pressure, which changes blood flow through the small parts of your ear that allow you to hear. Secondly, nicotine in cigarettes actually has an affect on the auditory nerves inside of your ear. Therefore, if you don't already have enough reasons why you should quit smoking, saving your hearing is one you might want to pay close attention to so you can avoid future problems. 

You clean your ears with cotton swabs. 

Cotton swabs are a great health and beauty aid and are useful for all kinds of things, from applying makeup to cleaning a scratch with peroxide. However, cotton swabs are also commonly used to clean the ears. In fact, this is one of the primary reasons these can be found in a lot of homes across the country. Cotton swabs should only be used to clean the outer parts of the ear, however, not inside of your ear canal. The cotton tip can push ear wax and debris further down into the ear canal and cause problems with your hearing. Ear cleaning solutions and specially designed ear wax vacuums are a better, safer solution. 

If you are experiencing problems with your hearing, visit an audiologist's office such as Children  &  Family Hearing Associates to determine the cause and find a solution to better hearing.


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