Ear Care 101: Ways to Achieve Excellent Hearing
Imagine the soft swishing sounds of waves hitting the shore. How about a soothing melody being played on the piano as you enjoy your glass of wine?
You would not be able to enjoy such sounds if you have trouble with your hearing. That’s why it’s important to care for your ears as much as you do with other parts of your body.
In this article, we have gathered some basic tips to help you have healthy ears.
Basic Tips for Ear Care
Ever wondered how to care for your ears? Here are some tips and tricks you could do.
1. Eat Right
It might surprise you that certain foods promote good ear health. Dietitians cannot emphasize enough the need for a balanced diet, because every food we take affects every organ of our body.
It’s very important to be intentional about what you put inside your fridge and what you stock in your pantry. For healthy ears, you can start incorporating bananas and oranges into your diet.
Do you love dark chocolate? If you answered yes, you would love to know that it helps to prevent ear infections.
Go ahead and order those curated gift baskets teeming with different varieties of chocolate. Remember, though, to eat this in moderation to avoid other health problems.
Fish like salmon and tuna are rich in Vitamin D and Omega3 which enhances coordination between your ears and brain. Fancy scheduling a trip out at Byward Market to buy some fresh catch of fish?
How about growing some broccoli, spinach, and cabbage in your garden? The folic acid in these vegetables helps with proper blood circulation in your ears.
2. Clean Softly
It may feel good to poke at your ears with cotton swabs thinking that you’re thoroughly cleaning this part of your body. The truth is this practice does more harm than good.
Ears have a self-cleaning mechanism that brings out all the dirt to their surface. You only need to wipe the outer area of your ear with a damp washcloth.
However, you must make sure to keep your ears dry. After bathing or swimming, don’t forget to towel-dry your ears.
3. Protect from Noise
Once in a while, you may enjoy time with friends or go out on a date with concerts or bars as the venue. Singing and dancing with the crowd feels exhilarating, but the loud music and cheers may pose risks to your hearing.
If you can, step out of the place at least for a few minutes. This will give your ears some break from all the noise.
After such events, your ears would also need some recovery time. Studies show that your ears need around 16 hours of quiet time after being exposed to a loud night of fun.
Some chores may also expose you to loud noises such as mowing the lawn. Also, some types of work may constantly need the use of loud machines.
Ear care shouldn’t be an excuse for you to get away with doing your tasks. Instead, invest in hearing protection like ear muffs and earplugs.
4. Regulate the Volume
Enjoying a movie or competing in a video game with your partner is a fun home date idea. However, make sure that you don’t blast the volumes to full (softer volumes are more conducive to romance, by the way).
If you’re a frequent party host, you would know that music livens the atmosphere. Remember, though, to keep it at a comfortable level to help conversations flow and for you and your guests not to hurt your ears.
If you’re enjoying some downtime with your headsets on, have the volume toned down to prevent noise-induced hearing loss. If others can hear what you’re listening to through your headphones, chances are you’re doing it too loud.
5. Manage Stress
Stress creates havoc on your health and your disposition. You may want to add ear health to your list of why you need to manage stress.
High levels of stress can lead you to a condition called tinnitus or a phantom buzzing or ringing in your ears. It’s quite uncomfortable to feel like there’s a swarm of bees or flies hovering just outside your ear.
So, don’t think twice about indulging in self-care routines. It’s not just about massages and spas but more about creating healthy lifestyle changes that will effectively keep stress at bay.
6. Schedule Routine Check-ups
Ear care should also involve medical advice or intervention. When visiting your doctor for regular check-ups, don’t hesitate to ask for hearing tests should you feel that you need one.
Your regular healthcare provider can also refer you to an ear specialist if they see that the situation calls for it. Take note of some strange symptoms that you may have about your hearing and mention them during your medical appointments.
Caring for your ears involves simple steps that you can easily incorporate into your lifestyle. When you have a good sense of hearing, you would enjoy the world (and sounds) around you.
Do you want to share another ear care tip that isn’t on our list? We would love to hear from you.
Aside from your ears, your whole body (and specific parts of it) deserves some tender care from you. Here are more ways to make sure that your health is in prime condition.