Are you setting some health goals for the new year? Along with goals to eat healthier or spend more time outside, why not add improved hearing to your new year’s health goals? Here are a few healthy hearing habits that can improve your hearing in the new year.
Get More Exercise
You might be surprised to learn that exercise is good for your ears. If you’ve been spending a lot more time sitting down this year, it’s time to get up and get active. Getting more exercise can actually reduce your risk of hearing loss. Regular exercise can improve blood circulation throughout the body, including to your ears. The cells in your ears need a steady supply of oxygenated blood, so improved circulation can help your ears stay healthy.
Easy exercises include joining a fitness group, going for a walk, or even doing some stretches. You don’t have to do any strenuous activity to see the benefits of getting more exercise. By doing a bit of physical activity every day you can improve your heart health, improve your circulation, and even benefit your hearing.
Wear Hearing Protection
Another way to improve your hearing health in the new year is by wearing hearing protection. Did you know that many of the sounds you hear every day could be damaging your hearing? Some sounds that can cause hearing loss include:
- Using power tools
- Mowing the lawn
- Driving in heavy traffic
- Riding on the subway
- Working on a construction site
- Spending an evening in a crowded restaurant or bar
- Standing near emergency sirens
- Watching new years fireworks
Whenever you’re in a noisy environment, you must wear hearing protection. When sounds are over 85 decibels (dB) you risk harming your ears. If you’re not sure how loud is too loud, you can download a free decibel reader app on your phone. You can also try talking to the friend next to you. If you have to yell to be heard, it’s way too loud!
Stay Social
This one might surprise you. Staying social is good for your hearing. Having conversations with loved ones is rewarding, and it can also improve your hearing. When you don’t have enough social interaction, you risk feeling socially isolated. Your physical, emotional, and cognitive health can suffer.
Social interaction can also keep your brain healthy. Hearing doesn’t just happen in your ears; it also happens in your brain. Staying socially active exercises your brain, and you exercise the ability to detect and process information. When your brain stays active and healthy, you’ll have an easier time processing and understanding sound. Staying social can prevent cognitive decline and even help improve your hearing.
Book a Hearing Test
One of the best things you can do to improve your hearing in the new year is to book a hearing test. This non-invasive test only takes an hour, but it will tell you all about your hearing health. During the test, you’ll wear headphones, then listen to a series of sounds. You’ll hear sounds in high and low registers, and the sounds will be in a range of volumes. All you need to do is let us know when you hear a sound. This test will show us exactly what sounds you can hear. It indicates your hearing threshold or the softest sound you can hear at each pitch.
Find Your Perfect Hearing Aids
If you have hearing loss, we’ll work together to find the right hearing aids that will improve your hearing. We have a huge selection of devices that will fit any hearing need, lifestyle, and budget. Hearing aids can help you hear all the sounds you’ve been missing. They’ll also help you have more energy and stay more social. Hearing aids include advanced programs to enhance speech understanding, reduce distracting sounds, and help you focus on sounds in front of you. Some devices even have connectivity features, tinnitus management programs, and rechargeable batteries.
Seek Treatment for Hearing Loss
The improved hearing starts now! Add your hearing health to your new year’s health goals, then visit us at Pacific Northwest Audiology. We provide quality hearing care, including hearing tests, hearing aid consultations, fittings, and more. Contact us today to start your year off right.