2023 is almost here, and it’s time to celebrate! Loud music, fireworks, and the screams of joy as midnight hits are all staples of ringing in the new year, but if you don’t protect your ears, they’ll be ringing too!
Loud noises we hear not just on New Year’s but throughout the year can actually cause hearing loss. These noises can damage your inner ear’s sensory and hair cells, causing noise-induced hearing loss. Decide now to protect your ears and prevent hearing loss in the new year with these seven New Year’s resolutions!
1. Walk Away From Loud Noises!
It may be hard to avoid all loud noises, but you can prevent hearing loss by moving as far away from the noise as possible. The farther away you are, the less damage the loud noises will do to your ears. So you can still enjoy the New Year’s fireworks display, but do it from a distance.
2. Wear Ear Protection!
If you’re attending an air show, working around heavy machinery, mowing the lawn, or doing something else that you know will involve loud noises, put on some ear protection. You can prevent noise-induced hearing loss simply by wearing some headphones or earplugs.
3. Choose Noise-Canceling Headphones!
You can also protect your ears by wearing noise-canceling headphones. You can even use them when you’re not listening to music. Slip the headphones on, turn on the noise-canceling feature, and enjoy a quieter evening.
Noise-canceling headphones also allow you to block out background noises. With regular headphones, you might turn the volume all the way up so you can hear over what’s going on around you, but with noise-canceling headphones, you don’t have to!
4. Turn Down the Volume!
Sometimes we don’t realize how loud the volume on our TV, radio, or phone really is. Over time, the blaring music or voices do more harm than good. You can prevent hearing loss and train your ears by turning down the volume!
5. Keep Up on Physical Exercise!
Our hearing health is actually connected to our heart health. People with diabetes or cardiovascular disease have a higher chance of hearing loss. But you can prevent hearing loss and other complications by keeping up with your exercise routine and maintaining a healthy weight!
6. Stop Smoking!
Smoking is bad for many reasons, but it can also cause hearing loss. Your ears and throat are close together, and the smoke can cause blockages in your ears. Quitting smoking is hard, but you can talk to your doctor to learn more about getting the help you need to stop smoking.
7. Get a Hearing Test at the Glatz Group!
Even if you haven’t noticed any hearing loss, you could still benefit from a hearing test and checkup from your ear, nose, and throat doctor! Noise-induced hearing loss usually is gradual and painless, so you might have already lost some hearing and not even know it.
Hearing tests only take a few minutes of your time. Check off an easy and quick New Year’s resolution by scheduling a hearing test with the Glatz Group! Our team of hearing experts will find out if you’ve lost any hearing, show you how you can prevent further hearing loss, and provide hearing solutions if you need them!