5 Things That Put You At High Risk Of Losing Your Hearing

It’s vital to have a healthy lifestyle as this is going to affect your hearing health as well as other factors of your overall physical health. However, it’s also so important to understand what could put you at high risk of losing your hearing altogether. So, here are some things you’ll want to look out for so you can have healthy hearing.

Smoking

Smoking has been linked to numerous health conditions, including hearing loss. It affects the blood pressure and blood flow of the body and can cause damage to the lining of the ear, nose and throat. It may also affect the eustachian tube, which helps to regulate air pressure. Secondhand smoke has also been associated with hearing problems.

Children exposed to it develop ear infections and conductive and acoustic hearing loss. Smoking affects the brain’s ability to interpret sounds and send messages to the ears. Nicotine, one of the ingredients in cigarettes, interferes with the regulation of key neurotransmitters.

What about vaping and E-cigarettes? Well, these can also be dangerous to your hearing health, as well as other aspects of your physical health. E-cigarettes and other vaping devices contain chemicals and substances that can damage your hearing.

The vapor from these devices can also cause lung cancer. One of the biggest risks to your hearing from e-cigarettes is the contents of the liquid. It contains a variety of chemicals, including nicotine, alcohol and other additives. This could damage your ears and lead to other health issues.

One chemical, propylene glycol, is an alcohol-based chemical associated with temporary hearing loss. In addition, the nicotine contained in cigarettes can impair neurotransmitters in the auditory nerve, which can cause hearing loss. This is done as they can block blood flow to your ears. This makes it difficult for oxygen to reach the tiny hair cells in your cochlea.

Frequent Alcohol Consumption

Just as the alcohol in vaping chemicals can cause loss of hearing, frequent alcohol consumption can do it too. Having high alcohol consumption for a long period of time will have the potential to damage the central auditory cortex of the brand. This means that there can be shrinkage within the brand, including the auditory nerves.

Loud Noise

Whether it’s loud devices such as computers, events like concerts or even loud environments such as a construction site, noise-induced hearing can destroy your hearing. Essentially anything above 85 decibels can cause this. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) occurs when repeated exposure to loud sounds destroys the delicate structures in the ear. The damage may be temporary or permanent.

The symptoms of NIHL can last for days or weeks after exposure. The intensity of the noise also affects the degree of the loss. These risks can affect people of all ages. Young children can be especially sensitive to noise. Their ear canals are much smaller than adults and are more vulnerable to louder sounds. This is why it’s so important to avoid loud volumes and wear earplugs at events.

Diseases

Some diseases can be prevented, while other diseases can be hereditary. Three major diseases that can potentially put you at high risk of losing your hearing include autoimmune inner ear disease, Meniere’s disease and otosclerosis. Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED) is a condition that affects the ears. This disease causes hearing loss and may also lead to balance problems. It can happen on its own, or it can occur with another disorder. The most common symptom is sudden hearing loss, but there are other symptoms too.

Meniere’s disease is a disorder of the inner ear that can cause hearing loss. It’s not known what causes it, but the ear can be affected by stress or other problems. People with this condition may also have tinnitus, a constant buzzing or ringing in the ears.

Otosclerosis is a disease caused by abnormal bone growth around the stapes, a tiny bony ossicle in the middle ear. The stapes helps to send sound vibrations to the inner ear. The problem occurs when the bone grows too large and stops vibrating.

Aging

Everyone ages and there isn’t anything that can be done about it. However, you are in control of slowing down age-related hearing loss. Although there are no known cures for this condition, effective treatments can help restore your hearing ability. Several tests can identify hearing loss. You can have an audiologist perform an exam to determine the degree of your hearing loss. The doctor will look for damage to the eardrum, earwax or infection.

People with untreated hearing loss can become isolated and experience social withdrawal. In addition, their relationships with spouses and children can be impacted. This can lead to significant family stress. Some of age-related hearing loss symptoms include difficulty hearing people speak, hearing sounds in background noise and feeling overwhelmed by certain sounds.

If you’re concerned about your hearing health, contact the team at Advanced Hearing Services by calling us today at (970) 449-0592 to set up an appointment.