Everyone wants to stay youthful for as long as possible. From wrinkle creams to Botox to special diets to spin class, we spend countless hours every day doing everything we can to slow the steady march of aging. And yet, even with all that effort (and all those hours), we tend to neglect doing one easy thing that might actually work: using ear protection.
The majority of people most likely consider hearing loss as inevitable as we age. But it’s not that simple. You can keep your hearing in great shape and help avoid damage by safeguarding and caring for your ears. And as the years go on, great hearing can have significant anti-aging benefits.
Hearing And Aging
When we talk about “aging” we don’t normally mean the actual passing of time. Rather, “aging” typically refers to the appearance of certain physical, mental, or emotional characteristics that we link to aging. A great example of this is joint pain. You might relate sore knees, for example, with “getting old”. But it’s not age alone that causes the problem (your regular 5-mile run might have something to do with it, also).
The same goes for many types of hearing loss. There’s an accumulation of damage as you grow older. The accumulation of damage, in most instances, is the actual cause of hearing deterioration. And it’s often downhill from there. Several other indications of aging have been linked to hearing loss:
- The onset of mental issues, including dementia, can often be accelerated by neglected or unnoticed hearing loss.
- Self isolation from family and friends can be the result of untreated hearing loss.
- Research has shown a robust link between untreated hearing loss, depression, and anxiety.
- In some situations, the mental strain associated with attempting to hear can result in issues like loss of memory or insomnia. And, in a particularly profound way, that can make you feel like you are aging.
So How do I Combat Age-Related Hearing Loss?
When you fight the “signs of aging” in your ears, you’re actually placing a focus on preventing damage. And fortunately, there are quite a few ways to achieve that. For example, you can:
- Boost your awareness. It isn’t only the painfully loud sounds that can cause harm. Your ears can also be injured by moderate noise if you are exposed to it for long periods of time.
- Try to avoid loud noises as much as possible. If you need to expose yourself to loud noise, use hearing protection. So when you go to that concert with your favorite band, be certain to use earplugs.
- If you happen to work in a relatively noisy environment, wear ear protection. With modern quality ear muffs, loud noises are eliminated while you can still hear people talking clearly.
All of these steps will help protect your ears. But there’s one more thing you can do to keep your ears in fighting shape: contact us for a hearing examination. Catching hearing loss before you even notice it can be accomplished by having regular examinations. Even if your hearing is perfectly fine, a screening will still be able to provide a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Wear Hearing Aids to Keep Your Ears Healthy
The world we live in can be boisterous. Even with your best effort to protect your hearing, you still may ultimately notice some hearing loss. If that’s the case, it’s vital that you get help as soon as possible. Some of the age related issues related to hearing loss can be avoided with a good pair of set aids.
Hearing aids can help your ears function more youthfully, sort of like a facelift for your ears. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other problems from increasing. This analogy only goes so far since a facelift is cosmetic and hearing aids are essential. You might look younger if you use wrinkle cream. But your best choice, if want to feel younger, is to deal with your hearing loss and protect your ears.