Hearing, like breathing is one of the innate ability of man that is essential for daily living. Good hearing and listening skills are vital essentials for quality life. Through hearing, we are able to do a lot of crucial things like: detecting the presence of something or someone, find food and sense danger. Hearing also takes part in speech and language development and advancement, learning and of course, in communicating.
Sometimes, a person can have difficulties in hearing a particular sound because of different factors. This can result to hearing loss and to hearing impairment. Hearing loss and hearing impairment can happen to anyone at any age for numerous reasons. And it is now considered as one of the most common health disorder in the United States. This condition can happen so slowly that it can develop without being spotted. A person might suffer from depression and frustration that could lead to a feeling of isolation due to hearing loss. It is important that we take good care of our ears so that we could prevent this kind of impairment from happening.
So how do we take care of our ears? Here are some health guidelines for hearing health care.
1. AVOID ALL TYPES OF LOUD NOISES. Sounds that are over 85 decibels can be a source of some form of hearing loss. This includes any kind of explosion, gun shot, and even very loud musical concerts.Listening to high-pitched notes for a long time can cause great damages to a person's hearing. If we cannot avoid these loud noises, we could at least use some form of noise attenuators like earmuffs and earplugs. If we are listening to music using any kind of sound devices, there should be an ample amount of volume just enough for us to hear and understand the song. Do not listen to heavy metal and rock music using earphones that are on full blast because it can only amplify the sound thus, damaging your hearing.
2. DO NOT PROBE THE EAR CANAL.The head protects the most subtle parts of the body and this includes the ears. The ears are being guarded from dust and dirt by the ear wax. It carries out dust and dirt from the ears so that the ear canal could be protected and could continue doing its purpose. When cleaning your ears, do not apply too much force and do not insert the cotton buds deeply into the ear canal for this might cause bleeding. Running a damp washcloth along the external part and opening of the ear is enough to clean it.
3. WEAR EARPLUGS FOR SWIMMING.Water can cause damages, infection and imbalance in the body once it entered the ears. It is important that we wear earplugs when doing water related activities like swimming and diving to prevent water from entering the ears.
4. ENJOY A LIFE OF DISCIPLINE.Eat healthy foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals like fruits and vegetables to have a healthy body. Drink plenty of water so that the body could achieve Homeostasis. Avoid using tobacco and cigarettes because they may cause proximal deafness.
5. CONSULT YOUR DOCTOR. It is important that we visit our doctor at least twice a year for an ear checkup. This could prevent any hearing impairment from occurring. Also, if you are experiencing any pain from your ears, consult your doctor right away.