Health & Fitness

Unusual Ways to Keep Your Hearing Healthy

Your ears play a vital role in keeping you safe. Not only do they allow you to hear everything going on around you, they also help you to keep your balance. With hearing troubles, the only way to get back what you’ve lost is through hearing aids. You can click here to see a range of high-tech hearing aids currently available and give your hearing a quick, fun test. However, if you’re looking to protect your hearing before you need hearing aids, the tips below will help.

Unusual Ways to Keep Your Hearing Healthy

Eating the right foods

It’s often said that eating carrots will help you to see better in the dark. However, did you know that there are certain foods that can help to protect your hearing? Not only can they protect the ears, according to the SunWarrior website, they can also slow down the progression of current hearing problems you may be experiencing.

The foods you want to concentrate on include those packed with potassium, Alpha lipoic acid and folate. Potassium helps the cells to interact with each other within the inner ear. As you age your potassium levels drop and this can cause problems. Melons, bananas, spinach and oranges are all high in potassium.

Alpha lipoic acid is a powerful antioxidant and enzyme facilitator. It can help to protect against damage caused by free radicals and it helps to create mitochondria within the cells of the hairs in the inner ear. Foods that are rich in this acid include broccoli, spinach and sweet potatoes.

Folate has actually been linked to slowing down the progression of age related hearing loss. It is a B vitamin that is pretty important for your overall health. Lentils, leafy greens, spinach and broccoli are all natural sources of folate.

Make better lifestyle choices

If you smoke and/or regularly drink alcohol, this could be contributing towards hearing trouble. As stated on the Readers Digest website, a study that was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed the more you are exposed to cigarette smoke, the more likely you will be to develop age related hearing loss. The same applies for excessive levels of alcohol. However, alcohol can also have a positive impact on the hearing. If you drink a moderate amount, it can actually help to protect you against hearing loss.

Brush your teeth at least twice a day

This is one of the more unusual tips. It has been shown that there is an association between how many teeth you lose and your hearing. Those who lose a lot of teeth tend to lose their hearing a lot more than those who have more teeth. It’s a strange one but it definitely makes you want to brush twice a day. For added protection, make sure you floss too!

Overall there are many ways to protect your hearing. The above are some of the more unusual ways you may not have considered. Protecting your hearing is essential if you don’t want to rely upon hearing aids. However, if it does get to that stage, there are a wide range of ear aids available on the market.