Your hearing is a valuable part of living life to the fullest – your ears are precious organs that play vital roles in your life. So, when your ears aren’t functioning at their best, it’s easy to get frustrated or become concerned about how it will affect your daily activities. Hearing loss is a very common sensory disorder and millions of people across the world live with some loss of hearing. Hearing loss can happen for a lot of different reasons. Genetics can play a role in poor hearing, as well as aging and lack in vitamins and supplements, which is why it’s so important to see a hearing test doctor cypress texas (or another doctor in your own area) as soon as possible to determine the reason for the hearing loss. In fact, a 2007 study completed by Wageningen University in the Netherlands found that men and women that took regular folic acid supplements delayed age-related hearing loss in the low frequency range.

How do you know you have hearing loss?

If you are living with hearing loss, you will likely have one or more symptoms. These might include hearing muffled sounds instead of clear, crisp noises, or you might have difficulty understanding what others are saying, especially in places where there is a lot of background noise. You may also find yourself turning up radios or televisions loudly so you can hear. Of course, if you want to know for sure, you could always book a hearing test at a nearby ear clinic. By knowing what the state of your hearing is, you can take active steps to improve it.

How can you improve your hearing?

1. Maintain your ears well: It’s easy to let ear wax build up without knowing it. As it accumulates it hardens and can interfere with hearing. To remove wax build up, use an eyedropper filled with warm, natural oil or hydrogen peroxide. Insert into the ear and then rinse your ear canals with warm water. Be sure to dry out your ears after rinsing them so no bacteria or moisture sets in, which could cause an infection. Also, when you are cleaning your ears out, Q-tips can actually cause damage if you aren’t careful. By jamming them in your ear, you can sometimes push wax deeper in, which can cause more problems, and if you are too rough, damage to the ear drum can occur. So, if you use them once in a while, be very gentle. In addition, be sure to avoid loud noises (such as loud music, power tools, etc) on regular occasions; this can cause permanent damage to your ear drums.

2. Try a mini-hearing aid/sound amplifier: Sound amplifiers, such as this product, can work well due to sensitive microphones that have built-in volume control. Devices with this technology are easy to use, adjustable and can help increase sound volume so you can hear well. These devices are subtle and not obtrusive, so it’s likely that those around you won’t even notice you have a hearing device in your ear.

3. Exercise your ears: It’s true! You can exercise your ears. Begin by focusing on distant sounds, trying to drown out noises right next to you. This will allow you to differentiate different sounds and noise level variations, and can help train you to hear better in noisy or crowded rooms.

You only get one pair of ears in your lifetime! Taking care of them by cleaning them, avoiding loud noises on regular occasions, and being sure to have them checked out by your doctor regularly are all important parts of maintaining your hearing. If you think your hearing has changed significantly, or are feeling depressed by your inability to hear what’s going on around you, you should make time to visit a medical professional to see if there isn’t something more serious going on. So listen up: take care of your ears!

Article credit: Tower Health