{"id":2733,"date":"2024-06-14T11:52:06","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T18:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/?p=2733"},"modified":"2024-06-14T11:52:35","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T18:52:35","slug":"tips-for-maintaining-healthy-hearing-as-you-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/tips-for-maintaining-healthy-hearing-as-you-age\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Maintaining Healthy Hearing as You Age"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Healthy hearing allows you to lead an independent life and stay connected to the people you love. As you age, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nidcd.nih.gov\/health\/age-related-hearing-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inner and middle ear deterioration and complex changes along the auditory nerve can lead to hearing loss<\/a>. Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is often gradual and inevitable. While you may not be able to permanently avoid presbycusis, adopting certain good habits can help you maintain healthy hearing and prevent unnecessarily advanced loss.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"1-noise-protection\">1. Noise Protection<\/h2>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1254\" height=\"836\" src=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Smiling-senior-woman.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2736\" style=\"width:475px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Smiling-senior-woman.jpg 1254w, https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Smiling-senior-woman-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1254px) 100vw, 1254px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p>Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most preventable causes. The CDC estimates that approximately <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/hearing-loss-children\/about\/preventing-noise-induced-hearing-loss.html?CDC_AAref_Val=https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/ncbddd\/hearingloss\/noise.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">17% of adults aged 20-69<\/a> have suffered permanent hearing damage from excessive exposure to noise. A few ways you can help prevent noise-induced hearing loss include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wear earplugs or earmuffs around loud construction, concerts at The Observatory North Park and other sources of excessive noise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limit headphone use<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limit the volume on personal audio devices to 70-80 dB<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"2-seek-treatment-for-comorbidities\">2. Seek Treatment for Comorbidities<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Chronic conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, heart disease, sleep apnea, kidney disease and arthritis can <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asha.org\/siteassets\/ais\/ais-comorbidities-and-hearing-loss.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">raise your risk of hearing loss when left untreated<\/a>. Schedule annual checkups with your physician to prevent, monitor and treat these conditions where possible. If you are living with one or more hearing loss comorbidities, schedule <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/hearing-loss\/testing\/\">regular appointments with an audiologist to track hearing health<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"3-dont-use-cotton-swabs\">3. Don\u2019t Use Cotton Swabs<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Putting cotton swabs in your ear is an ineffective and potentially dangerous method of wax removal. Cotton swabs can lead to eardrum perforation and earwax impaction. In severe cases, these conditions can result in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/ruptured-eardrum\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20351879\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">temporary or lasting hearing damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most cases, earwax <a href=\"https:\/\/my.clevelandclinic.org\/health\/body\/24624-earwax\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">moves out of the ear on its own and does not require removal<\/a>, except in cases of excess production or blockage. In the event that an ENT specialist recommends earwax removal, they may suggest one of the following methods:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Professional removal using suction, irrigation, an earwax spoon or forceps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At-home provider-recommended ear irrigation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ear drops and suction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>To help prevent perforation or hearing damage, only remove your earwax under your provider\u2019s instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"4-schedule-regular-audiology-screenings\">4. Schedule Regular Audiology Screenings<\/h2>\n\n\n<p>Regular audiology screenings help your provider ensure your hearing system is running smoothly. Regular screenings will help you maintain healthy hearing and get <a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/hearing-aids\/benefits-of-hearing-aids\/\">any treatment you need<\/a> as early as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To learn more about caring for your hearing health, contact San Diego Hearing Center today to schedule an appointment with one of our experts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><ul class=\"related-posts\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/how-to-protect-your-hearing-during-a-concert\/\" class=\"related-post\">How to Protect Your Hearing During a Concert<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/habits-to-prevent-hearing-loss\/\" class=\"related-post\">Habits to Prevent Hearing Loss<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/im-tired-all-the-time-do-i-need-a-hearing-test\/\" class=\"related-post\">I\u2019m Tired All the Time, Do I Need a Hearing Test?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Healthy hearing allows you to lead an independent life and stay connected to the people you love. As you age, inner and middle ear deterioration and complex changes along the auditory nerve can lead to hearing loss. Age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) is often gradual and inevitable. While you may not be able to permanently avoid&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12,7,13,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hearing-aids","category-hearing-loss","category-hearing-protection","category-hearing-test"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2733"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2738,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2733\/revisions\/2738"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sandiegohearing.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}