WOMAN’S GP DR PHILIPPA KAYE ON HER TOPIC OF THE WEEK
7 ways to better hearing
From using cotton buds to having your headphones too loud, you could be damaging your hearing without even realising
Found yourself turning up the volume on the TV? Perhaps others are complaining it’s now too loud? Or maybe you’re asking people to repeat themselves, or you’re finding it difficult to hear in particular situations, such as at a party or in a busy restaurant, where there is a lot of background noise. It may feel as though people are mumbling or not speaking clearly.
There are many causes of hearing loss. These include having wax in your ears, a sinus infection meaning that your ears feel blocked, nerve damage, or hearing loss associated with age, called presbycusis. When it’s related to age, hearing loss is gradual and generally affects both ears. It’s also extremely common, with 70% of people over the age of 70 having difficulty with their hearing to some degree.
Hearing loss can have a real impact on your life, so how can you protect your ears?
1 AVOID COTTON BUDS
As a junior doctor, I was taught that nothing should go into your ear that’s smaller than your elbow, and we all know you can’t fit your elbow into your ear! When you use a cotton bud, even if you do manage to remove some wax, you are simply pushing most of it deeper into the ear canal, where it can become impacted and cause more problems.
2 DON’T OVERCLEAN
You don’t need to clean inside the ear canal itself, ear wax is there for a very good reason – to moisturise the skin of the inner ear, trap dirt and dust and therefore protect the ear canal, and even help prevent infections.
3 SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
If you have noticed hearing loss and you are advised that there is a build up of ear wax, then over-the-counter drops can be used to soften and treat the wax. If this isn’t effective then microsuction can be useful to remove any excess – this can be carried out by a healthcare professional.
4 PROTECT YOURSELF
Your hearing can be damaged by repeated loud noises. If appropriate, you should protect your ears from trauma using ear protection when you are around loud sounds – and make sure that your headphones aren’t turned up too high.
5 LOOK AFTER YOUR GENERAL HEALTH
Stop smoking, make sure that other health conditions, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, are kept under con
