Hearing protection is crucial at every stage of your life, even after you’ve already developed hearing loss. Although inner ear hearing loss can’t be reversed, you can minimize your risk of greater damage by controlling factors like noise exposure.
The Importance of Protecting Remaining Hearing
Your inner ear has thousands of tiny cells that transmit sound as electrical signals to your brain.1 When something like a loud noise, illness or ototoxic medication (medication that can damage the hearing system) damages those tiny cells, hearing loss occurs. The greater the number of hair cells that die off, the more profound your hearing loss will be.
Protecting your remaining inner ear cells is an essential step in preserving your hearing and your ability to connect with the world around you.
How To Protect Your Remaining Hearing
A few ways you can safeguard your remaining hearing include:
- Wear earplugs. If you’re going to a concert at The Orpheum, don’t forget to pack a pair of earplugs to wear when the volume reaches unsafe levels.
- Don’t blast music through your headphones. Set a volume limit on your phone using the “headphone safety” settings. Any noise above 85 dB can damage your hearing, so 70-80 dB is a good limit.
- Use your hearing aids. Your brain processes speech better when it receives regular input. Hearing aids don’t stop hearing loss from progressing, but they can keep your brain engaged to help you stay involved in the conversation.
- Schedule regular hearing tests. Regular check-ups are an important part of caring for your hearing—especially if you’re regularly exposed to loud noise, take ototoxic medication or have a family history of hearing loss.
Preserving your hearing is an excellent way to help you connect to and stay safe in the world. If you’ve been diagnosed with hearing loss and wish to discuss your treatment options, contact Kampsen Hearing today to schedule an appointment with one of our specialists.
Sources:
1 Hudspeth, A. J., & Martin, P. (2024). The Critical Thing about the Ear’s Sensory Hair Cells. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience, 44(44), e1583242024. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1583-24.2024