Everybody wants to stay young for as long as possible. We spend a great number of hours undertaking everything we can to stay young. From specialized diets to gym memberships to Botox to wrinkle creams. And yet, even with all that energy (and all those hours), we commonly neglect doing one simple thing that might actually work: safeguarding our ears.
Many people probably consider hearing loss as inevitable as we get older. But it’s not that simple. By protecting your ears (and treating them with a bit of kindness on the way), you can help avoid harm and keep your hearing in great shape. And as time goes by, strong hearing can have considerable anti-aging benefits.
Hearing And Aging
When we discuss “aging” we don’t usually mean the actual passage of time. Rather, “aging” usually refers to the presentation of certain physical, mental, or emotional attributes that we associate with aging. Pain in your joints is a perfect illustration of this. You might associate sore knees, for example, with “getting old”. But lifestyle has as much to do with this as age does.
Many kinds of hearing loss fall under this category. As you get older, damage builds up. And in most circumstances, it’s the build-up of damage that causes the actual hearing deterioration. And that’s when things can start to snowball. Several other indications of aging have been linked to hearing loss:
- Untreated hearing loss could cause you to self-isolate from family or friends.
- When hearing problems are undetected and neglected they can often accelerate the onset of other mental health problems, including dementia.
- In some situations, the mental demand involved in attempting to hear can result in issues such as loss of memory or insomnia. And, in a particularly intense way, that can make you feel like you are getting old.
- Research has shown a strong link between neglected hearing loss, depression, and anxiety.
So How do I Overcome Age-Related Hearing Loss?
You’re really emphasizing damage prevention when you combat the “signs of aging” in your ears. And it’s fortunate that we can achieve that in a number of ways. Here are a few things you can do:
- As much as you can, avoid loud noises. And when you can’t avoid high volume areas, wear hearing protection. So when you go see that concert with your favorite musician, be sure to wear earplugs.
- If you happen to work in a somewhat noisy setting, wear ear protection. With modern high quality ear muffs, loud noises are eliminated while voices are still able to be heard with clarity.
- Become more aware. You can still have damage to your hearing even if sounds aren’t painfully loud. Moderate noise for extended durations can cause harm to your ears, too.
All of these steps will help protect your hearing. But if you want to keep your hearing in good shape you can do one more thing: contact us for a hearing examination. Catching hearing loss before you even notice it can be achieved by having regular examinations. Even if your hearing is perfectly fine, an exam will still be capable of providing a useful baseline to compare against future results.
Wear Hearing Aids to Keep Your Ears Healthy
We live in a loud world. Even with your best effort to take care of your hearing, you still might ultimately detect some hearing loss. You need to get help as soon as possible if you do detect any symptoms of hearing loss. Some of the age related problems related to hearing loss can be prevented with a good pair of set 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 issues at bay. The analogy isn’t perfect, because hearing aids are needed and a facelift isn’t, but you get the point. Wrinkle creams might help you look younger. But if you really want to combat aging and feel somewhat more youthful, your best bet is to safeguard your hearing and treat your hearing loss.