This article was medically reviewed by Erik Kramer, DO, MPH. Dr. Erik Kramer is a Board-Certified Primary Care Physician at the University of Colorado. With over 15 years of experience, his clinical interests include obesity and weight management, diabetes care, and preventive care, as well as embracing a holistic approach to primary care. He received his Doctorate in Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) from the Touro University Nevada College of Osteopathic Medicine and completed his residency at Central Maine Medical Center. Dr. Kramer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
There are 9 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
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Many people experience hearing loss, especially as they age. You cannot reverse most types of hearing loss and there may be some circumstances in which you cannot avoid it. However, by preventing hearing loss with strategies such as dampening loud noises and taking care of your ears, you may be able to halt hearing loss.
Steps
Making Lifestyle Choices
Limit your exposure to loud noises. One of the most common causes of hearing loss is repeated exposure to loud noises. By reducing your exposure to loud noises as much as possible, you may be able to prevent hearing loss.[1]- Recreational activities such as concerts, hunting or shooting, snowmobiling can significantly impact your hearing. Limit your exposure to high decibel situations, such as ambulance sirens, which typically have a decibel level of 100-109 and rock concerts, which tend to have a decibel level of 110-119.
- Consider wearing ear protection when doing outdoor activities such as mowing the lawn or whacking weeds.
- Many people work in places that require them to hear loud noises on a consistent basis. For example, working in factories, the military, transportation services, or construction may hurt your hearing.
- Noises above 85 decibels can harm your hearing.
Wear protective hearing devices. Hearing loss related to sound is 100% preventable by taking proper measures to dampen sound. Purchase and wear protective hearing devices such as earplugs for any occasion in which you’ll be exposed to loud noises. [2]- Earplugs and earmuffs are options to help protect your hearing.
- Make sure to protect children’s ears from loud sounds with protective devices.
Tip: Purchase protective hearing devices from specialty stores for the activity you’ll be doing. For example, sporting goods stores sell hearing protection for hunting and snowmobiling, music stores sell protection for concerts and playing loud instruments, and hardware stores sell hearing protection for use with power tools.
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Monitor the volume of noise at home. You can help prevent noise-related hearing loss in your home by watching the volume of your appliances and also the volume at which people speak. By keeping sound levels to a minimum, you may minimize your chance for hearing loss or other conditions such as tinnitus.[3]- Keep the volume of electronics such as TVs, tablets, and video games at a minimum.
- If you use personal listening devices, keep the sound at a conservative level. Buying noise-cancelling headphones may help you listen at a lower noise level.
- Ear-bud type headphones are more likely to cause hearing loss than typical headphones. When using earbuds, it is highly recommended that you keep the volume to a minimum, especially if you are using special noise-canceling ones.
- If you are wearing headphones and someone within 3 feet (0.9 m) can hear what you hear — it's too loud!
- Buy quieter products. Many electronics come with decibel ratings on their packaging. Compare these ratings and buy the lowest you can find.
Tip: Limit your time with devices that can produce high decibels, such as a TV or stereo. Find activities that do not involve high volume noises, such as hiking or biking in a park.
- 4Protect yourself from traumatic head injury. Suffering a blow to the head can lead to hearing loss, temporarily or permanently. Make sure you are taking the proper precautions to protect your head while biking, skating, skateboarding, riding a motorcycle or scooter, or doing anything else that might lead to a head injury.[4]Advertisement
Taking Care of Your Ear Health
See your doctor regularly. Even if you don’t have specific problems with your ears, it’s a good idea to see you doctor and monitor your ear health. This can help identify problems that could cause hearing loss.[5]- You can see your regular doctor to monitor your ear health or see a specialist for the ears, which is called an otolaryngologist.
- If you have any symptoms of ear infections or a perforated eardrum, including bleeding or discharge of pus from your ears, see your doctor or go to the hospital as soon as possible.
Remove ear wax only if it’s obstructing your eardrum. In most cases, earwax will fall out on its own. However, buildup of earwax, which is also called cerumen, can cause hearing loss in some cases. Keep your ears clean to help prevent wax buildup and possible hearing loss.[6]- Use a soft cloth to wipe around the outside of your ear and on your outer ear canal. If you like, you can wet the cloth slightly with warm water.
- Wrap a paper tissue around your finger and gently wipe your outer ear and outer ear canal with the tissue.
- Apply an over the counter ear drops to remove wax.
- Avoid using cotton swabs or other instruments to clean your ears as this can run the risk of puncturing your ear drum or other serious complications.
Tip: Avoid cleaning your ears too often. You need some amount of wax to maintain your ear health. If you have significant ear wax buildup, consider seeing your doctor for cleaning. This is the safest way to remove the buildup and may also help you hear better.
Avoid prolonged use of certain medications. There are some drugs that can damage your inner ear from prolonged use. Avoiding these drugs as much as possible or for prolonged periods may minimize the chance of developing hearing loss or tinnitus.[7]- Antibiotics, such as gentamicin and some chemotherapy drugs, can affect hearing. However, these medications are closely monitored because of their risk of adverse effects. For example, gentamicin is usually only administered to patients while they are staying in the hospital and it is monitored closely using blood levels.
- Very high doses of aspirin or anti-malarial drugs may cause hearing loss.
- Loop diuretics may cause hearing loss.
- Some signs of hearing loss related to ototoxic drugs are: onset or intensification of tinnitus, fullness or pressure in the ear not related to infection, development of vertigo.
Control fevers with over-the-counter fever reducers. Diseases that cause high fevers, such as meningitis, can damage your cochlea and damage hearing. If you have an illness accompanied by high fever, take measures to control the fever as much as you can.[8]- For temperatures above 102 °F (39 °C), you can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help bring down the fever.
- Adults can take aspirin to bring down a fever. Because of the risk of Reye’s syndrome, do not give aspirin to children under the age of 12 with a fever.[9]
- Be aware that aspirin itself can contribute to hearing loss if taken in high doses. Make sure you always follow the recommended dose.
Immunize against viruses that can cause hearing loss. There are some viruses, such as measles or rubella that can cause hearing loss in adults, children, and unborn fetuses. Getting vaccinated against these viruses may help prevent hearing loss in your or your unborn baby.[10]- Some viruses that can cause hearing loss are: cytomegalovirus, herpes simplex virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, varicella zoster virus; and West Nile virus. Measles, mumps, rubella and rubeola can also cause hearing loss.
- You can get vaccinations for measles, mumps, and rubella—which is also called the MMR vaccine. In addition, vaccine are available for varicella zoster virus and vaccine trials for West Nile virus are currently underway.
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Expert Q&A
Video
References
- ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/basics/prevention/con-20027684
- ↑ https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/noise-induced-hearing-loss
- ↑ https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/top-10-tips-to-help-protect-your-hearing/
- ↑ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1078976
- ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/basics/causes/con-20027684
- ↑ https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000979.htm
- ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/basics/risk-factors/con-20027684
- ↑ http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hearing-loss/basics/risk-factors/con-20027684
- ↑ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/reyes-syndrome/symptoms-causes/syc-20377255
About this article
The best way to prevent hearing loss is to make lifestyle choices that protect you from loud noises, since sounds above 85 decibels can harm your hearing. When attending concerts or participating in other loud activities, like hunting or weed whacking, consider wearing protective hearing devices like earplugs to dampen the sound. You should also take care of your general ear health by seeing your doctor regularly and avoiding the prolonged use of medications like antibiotics, which can affect your hearing. If your ears feel clogged by wax, you can clean them out on occasion by using over-the-counter ear drops. For more advice from our Medical co-author, like how to safely monitor the volume of your electronic devices, scroll down!
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