by Lydia Wang

Created on: August 13, 2010

Good hearing health is important to an overall sense of well-being. It impacts the quality of life, communication abilities with friends and loved ones, and connectedness to a world filled with sound.

Hearing loss can occur as part of the natural aging process. Other hearing losses are the result of exposure to factors at both work and home.

One in 10 Americans has a hearing loss that affects his or her ability to understand normal speech. Age-related hearing loss is the most common cause of this condition and is more prevalent than hearing loss caused by excessive noise exposure.

Once hearing is damaged, it often can’t be restored. Some of the many causes of hearing damage include:

Noise - noise is part of everyday life, but loud noise can permanently damage your hearing. Conversation becomes difficult or impossible; your family complains about the television or cheap DVD movies being too loud and you have trouble using the telephone. The damage can be instant, for very loud or explosive noises, but generally it is gradual.

 aging-Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition for people 65 years of age and older in the United States. Drugs – certain chemicals and drugs can damage your hearing if taken over long periods of time. Injury – including perforation of the ear drum, fractured skull or large changes in air pressure (barotrauma).Disease – some diseases, such as measles, mumps, rubella (German measles) and meningitis, can cause loss of hearing.

Obviously, it is not enough to protect your hearing simply by avoiding exposure to excessive noises. Wear hearing protectors, especially if you must work in an excessively noisy environment. You should also wear them when using power tools, noisy yard equipment, or firearms, or riding a motorcycle or snowmobile. You need to do more to protect your hearing.

Second, Buy better earphones, people automatically raise the volume when it's difficult to hear over background noise (a common problem at the gym. It pays to get high-quality headphones such as monster beats headphones provide better sound and that fit better into your ear canal to block competing outside noise.

Third, quit smoking and stay away from other smokers. A study found that the more exposure you receive to cigarette smoke, the more likely you are to experience age-related hearing loss.

Additionally, your ears can also be damaged by water and you should keep a few simple things in mind to avoid this kind of damage. If you are going for scuba diving, make sure that you ascend and descend in the water with extra care as the changes in pressure might damage your ears and thus affect your hearing. Avoid submerging your head under water when not necessary during bathing, swimming or showering.

You can share what you know about NIHL with your family, friends, classmates, and co-workers. If you have children, explain to them that hearing is delicate and important. Call their attention to sounds that are harmful. Encourage them to protect their ears by avoiding loud noises or using special earmuffs. If they are too young to protect themselves, do it for them.

Finally, don’t try to clean your ears by poking anything into the ear canals. You may injure the delicate skin, or impact earwax.

Hearing damage occurs slowly over time and by the time you are aware of it it will be too late to prevent it. Start now by wearing good hearing protection any time you are in a noisy environment.

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