It wouldn’t be outrageous to suggest that your ears are underestimated for their importance. The ability to hear has a profound impact on the rest of your life, and it’s sadly something you don’t appreciate until it leaves you. People with hearing loss are known to fall deep into depression as they feel socially inept. Not only that, but your ears and the ability to hear can have an impact on your balance, with many people falling over and hurting themselves if their hearing starts getting worse.
Thus, taking care of your ears should be a top priority. Unfortunately, many things can happen to your ears that cause pain and may eventually lead to hearing loss. So, here are a few common habits that are bad for your ears, that you need to stop doing right this second!
Cleaning your ears with cotton buds
How many of you do this? Pretty much all of us, seeing as it seems like the only way to get wax from your ears. Well, there are two problems with this habit! Firstly, talk to an audiologist and they’ll explain that earwax is a good thing and it should exist. Usually, your ears clean themselves, and you only need to worry about wax when it hardens and blocks the ear canal.
Secondly, putting a cotton bud in your ear will just push the wax further down, making it more likely that it does block the canal and cause further problems. There’s also the risk that you put the cotton bud in too far and irritate your eardrum, causing a lot of pain. Get out of this habit – wipe wax from the opening of your ear with a tissue, or consider professional ear cleaning if you think you have an earwax problem.
Listening to music at loud volumes
When you put headphones on and listen to music, you may feel tempted to turn the volume up as high as possible. It immerses you in the music and cuts out any background noises. Sadly, this will batter your ears and cause problems like tinnitus and hearing loss.
Instead, you should turn the volume down to a safe level – most devices actually tell you when the volume reaches a dangerous level nowadays. It also helps to use noise-cancelling headphones, blocking out any background sounds. In turn, it means the actual music volume can be set to a lower figure, protecting your ears.
Not getting your hearing tested
Lastly, it’s a bad habit to never get your hearing tested. You don’t have to do multiple hearing tests per year – once a year is the most anyone really needs. To be honest, going to get your first test is the best thing to do as you’ll be told how often to return, based on your hearing health.
This protects your ears by ensuring any early signs of hearing loss are spotted ASAP. Therefore, you can make adjustments and follow treatment plans to prevent hearing loss or stop it from getting worse.
Are you guilty of following these three bad habits? It’s not too late to change! Adapt your life today, and you can have healthier ears and better hearing tomorrow.
