Everybody wants to stay youthful for as long as they can. From gym memberships to Botox to wrinkle cream to special diets, we spend a great number of hours each 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 avoid doing one easy thing that might actually work: wearing ear protection.
The majority of people most likely consider hearing loss as inevitable as we get older. But it’s not that easy. You can keep your hearing in good shape and help avoid damage by safeguarding and taking care of your ears. And excellent hearing can have considerable anti-aging effects as time goes by.
Aging And Hearing
The actual passing of time is not usually what we are describing when we speak of aging. Instead, certain emotional, mental, and physical changes are signs that someone is getting older. Joint pain is a perfect illustration of this. When your knees begin to hurt, you may relate that with “growing old”. But it’s not age by itself that causes the problem (your daily 5-mile run might have something to do with it, too).
The same is true of many types of hearing loss. There’s an accumulation of damage as you get older. And in most cases, it’s the build-up of damage that leads to the actual hearing deterioration. And it’s typically downhill from there. Untreated hearing loss has been associated with several other signs of aging:
- Anxiety and depression have been shown to have a significant link to hearing loss.
- Self isolation from family and friends can be the consequence of untreated hearing loss.
- In some instances, the mental strain associated with attempting to hear can result in problems such as loss of memory or insomnia. And, in a particularly intense way, that can cause you to feel like you are aging.
- When hearing impairments are undetected and untreated they can often hasten the onset of other mental health problems, including dementia.
So How do I Fight Age-Related Hearing Loss?
You’re actually emphasizing damage prevention when you combat the “signs of aging” in your ears. And fortunately, there are a number of ways to accomplish that. For instance, you can:
- Become more aware. It isn’t just the painfully loud sounds that can cause harm. Moderate sound for extended periods of time can cause damage to your ears, too.
- Wear hearing protection to work if your job exposes you to loud noise. Current ear muffs have excellent technology that can let you hear voices clearly while eliminating loud, harmful environmental sounds.
- Try to avoid loud noises as much as possible. And when you can’t avoid high volume places, wear hearing protection. So make sure you use earplugs when you go to that rock concert.
Your ears can be safeguarded by all of these steps. But in order to keep your hearing in good condition you can do one more thing: come see us for a hearing test. Catching hearing loss before it’s perceptible can be achieved by having regular examinations. Even if your hearing is perfectly fine, an exam will still be able to provide a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Keep Your Ears Healthy With Hearing Aids
The world we live in can be noisy. In spite of your best effort to take care of your hearing, you still may ultimately detect some hearing loss. You should get help as soon as possible if you do notice any symptoms of hearing loss. Some of the age related concerns associated with hearing loss can be avoided with a good pair of hearing aids.
Hearing aids can assist your hearing to function more youthfully, sort of like a facelift for your ears. And that can help keep depression, dementia, and other problems at bay. This analogy only goes so far since a facelift is cosmetic and hearing aids are necessary. You may look younger if you use wrinkle cream. But your best bet, if want to feel younger, is to deal with your hearing loss and protect your hearing.