Effective ways to improve your hearing

During adulthood, and as time goes on, almost all of us start pressing the “volume up” button more often, or start asking questions like “what?” or “how?” all the time. After all, our hearing tends to decrease as we age. And there are 2 facts that cause faster hearing loss over time: age, as we have already mentioned, and noise exposure.

As you get older, the tiny hair cells in your inner ear start to break down and are no longer able to pick up certain sound vibrations as well as they used to. In addition, excessive noise can damage them and cause premature hearing loss.

The good news is that there are many things you can do to prevent both noise-induced premature hearing loss and age-related hearing loss. O awesome.club gathered a series of information and tips for you to keep your ears healthy and young.

The best way to prevent hearing loss induced by loud sounds is to avoid loud noises as much as possible. But, what is a loud noise?

Generally speaking, noise can be loud enough to damage your hearing if:

You have to raise your voice to talk to people or make them listen to you. It’s hard to hear what other people say around you. Your ears hurt. Your ears become muffled or begin to ring.

The only way to measure noise levels is through decibels (dB). The higher the number, the stronger the sound. Sound over 85 dB can damage your ears, especially if you’ve been exposed to it for long periods of time.

To better understand:

person whispering = 30 dB
Two people talking = 60 dB
normal traffic = 80 — 85 dB
motorcycles = 90 dB
Loud music playback on headphones = 100 dB
plane taking off = 120 dB

Measuring decibels these days is simple. There are mobile apps that allow this verification.

Playing music at a very high volume with headphones can be one of the most dangerous things for your hearing health. Remember to lower the music volume, even a little. This helps not to overload your ears and prevent future problems.

To avoid hearing problems, follow these tips:

Choose to buy noise-blocking headphones rather than turning up the volume to silence outside noises. Adjust the volume so that you can comfortably listen to the music, but not (and we repeat: NO) more than that. Avoid playing your music at more than 60% of maximum volume. Do not wear your headphones for more than an hour. Try to give your ears a break of at least 10 minutes, so that your ears “breathe” and to protect them against infections.

When we are exposed to loud noises and over a long period of time, we gradually begin to lose our hearing without even realizing it. This is because noise exposure is often gradual, so it is imperceptible until more serious symptoms begin to appear. Heavy exposure to noise can also cause tinnitus (tinnitus, a high-pitched sound, or a kind of snoring in the ears or head), which can lead to complete hearing loss.

Is important protect your ears from exceptionally loud noises, such as in the case of concerts, bars, parties, works, sporting events, among others.

Some information to consider:

Stay away from the source of the loud sound. Take a break from the noise every 15 minutes if possible. Give your ears about 18 hours of rest to recover after exposing them to excessive noise. Consider using earplugs or earplugs; some of them are super cheap (less than 1 real) and discreet.

Improve your hearing with physical activity. That’s right! A recent study showed that as cardiovascular health levels increase, hearing sensitivity levels also increase. There is a link between the cardiovascular system and the functional capacity of organs and tissues in the inner ear.

By doing activity, blood circulation improves and this, of course, benefits (albeit indirectly) hearing.

Some exercises are more recommended for this indirect benefit of hearing. They are walking, swimming and cycling, always at a moderate pace and for at least 20 to 30 minutes, 5 days a week.

Definitely, the human brain plays a very important role in processing the sound information that our ears receive. Research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania, USA, indicates that there are links between hearing loss and mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

Research suggests that hearing loss can lead to gray matter atrophy in the auditory areas of the brain, particularly in the elderly. Therefore, some brain exercises like solving riddles and sound games can make your brain process information better.

Practice talking in noisy places to work on your focus. You can easily do this by turning on the radio, television at normal volume, so carry on a conversation with other people in the same room. Focus on the conversation while you tune out other sounds. This will get your mind focused on what’s most important and help train your ears to tune out unnecessary sounds. But, of course, don’t overdo the external sounds; if you do, you will be harming your hearing and the exercise will do you no good.
Practice finding the sound source. Close your eyes and ask someone to move silently to different parts of your house or apartment, making noises. Then try to identify the direction of the sound and its distance.
Practice recognizing various types of sounds. Go to a relatively quiet place, close your eyes and try to identify all the different sounds around you. Try to understand and identify the sounds; assess whether they are near or far. The more you practice this exercise, the more sounds you can recognize, and your hearing will be sharper.

The practice of yoga is widely used for its variety of health benefits.🇧🇷 There are different postures that can help with your hearing. The main purpose of these exercises is to increase blood circulation in the ear and, therefore, in the brain. Increased circulation helps improve nerve functions and eliminates toxins from the body. Below are some of the most recommended postures;

Tadasana – the tree posture. It is a good stretching and breathing exercise for the whole body. It stretches the arms, chest, abdominal muscles, spine and leg muscles, as well as giving a feeling of balance.
Trikonosana – a triangle posture. It improves spinal flexibility, corrects the position of the shoulders, relieves back pain, increases blood flow, massages and tones the pelvic organs along with the ligaments in the arms and legs.
Dhanurasana — bow posture. It is ideal for strengthening the abdominal core. It gives this area an excellent massage, increases blood flow, activates the digestive system and fights constipation.
Bhujangasana — snake posture. ‘Opens the chest’ and reduces tension, especially when you experience stress and fatigue. Strengthens and tones your back muscles, relieves any tension and pain in your lower back.

Make sure your diet is low in saturated animal fat and refined carbohydrates — white flours. Also avoid fatty foods.

Try to eat cold water fish such as salmon, trout and herring. Include nuts, seeds and whole grains in your daily eating routine, and most importantly, eat fresh vegetables and fruits. So, you will be ingesting:

lots of antioxidants🇧🇷 They fight the aging process throughout the body and neutralize free radicals that build up in the body and cause damage.
Vitamin B3 + Vitamin B6. Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, promotes blood circulation in the ears and throughout the body by causing blood vessels to expand. Vitamin B6, also known as pyridoxamine, is necessary for healthy nerve function.
Vitamin B12 + Vitamin B9. Vitamin B12 and Vitamin B9 (folate) play an important role in the normal functioning of the brain and nervous system, as well as blood formation and DNA. Vitamin B12 deficiency can be related to age-related hearing dysfunction, so it is important to consume adequate levels of these vitamins through food or supplements.

Sometimes dirt or wax can block the outer ear canal. This is a very common cause of conductive hearing loss. In general, wax has protective antibacterial properties and is relatively healthy when you have it in small amounts. Most of the time, the ear canals clear themselves. However, in some cases where they are obstructed, there is partial hearing loss.

Use hydrogen peroxide to clean your ears. Just add a few drops. However, the product may cause a slight burning sensation for a few minutes.
Apply a saline solution. Using a syringe, you can gently fill the ear canal with water or a saline solution.
Avoid using cotton-tipped swabs, as this way you can push the wax even deeper into the ear canal. Once the wax builds up, this area can be inflamed and cause more serious problems. Pass the rods only in the outer area of ​​the ear.
Consider the safest methods, how to administer drops of mineral oil or baby oil into the blocked ear. And, most importantly: when in doubt, consult an otolaryngologist.

Have you ever experienced hearing loss? What did you do about it? Share your experiences in the comments!