Many everyday items impact your hearing, from lawnmowers and leaf blowers to loud music at concerts and headphones. If you have red ears, numbness in the ear or ringing in your ears, consult an Albany audiologist for evaluation.
High-pitched sounds, explosions and rapid changes in air pressure can damage the eardrum. Infection, a ruptured eardrum and poking the ear with cotton swabs also can cause permanent damage.
1. Exposure to Loud Noise
For many people, loud noises are an everyday part of life. They play in the background as we use household appliances like vacuum cleaners or lawn mowers, listen to music, go to sporting events, or work in noisy industrial environments.
The louder a sound is, the faster it can damage our ears. A whisper is about 30 decibels, while a lawnmower or washing machine generates 70 to 80 decibels. At these levels, a few hours of exposure can cause hearing loss.
Loud noises overwork the hair cells in our cochlea, causing them to wear out or die. This causes us to lose our ability to hear and can continue for days, even after the noise stops.
Excessive noise exposure can also lead to tinnitus, which is a ringing or buzzing in the ears and head. It can be constant or come and go, and it often gets worse with age. It can also affect our sound tolerance, making quieter sounds seem very loud. The good news is that excessive noise exposure can be prevented by listening to soft music and using ear protection when at concerts, sports events, or working in noisy environments.
2. Earwax Buildup
It may be a bit icky, but earwax (also known as cerumen) actually has a purpose. It acts as a natural cleanser as it moves from your ear canal outward, collecting dead skin cells, hair and dirt. In fact, it even has antibacterial and antifungal properties. And it helps protect the eardrum from infection. So, there’s a reason your mom always warned you to not stick anything smaller than your elbow in your ears!
Earwax typically falls out of your ears or is washed away during a shower. However, people with atypical or misshapen ear canals or those who routinely use earplugs or hearing aids may experience more trouble getting rid of their earwax, resulting in a buildup of the sticky substance.
When earwax isn’t removed in time, it can harden and clog the ear canal. This is called impacted earwax and it can lead to symptoms such as a full feeling in the ears, reduced or muffled hearing, itchiness and a bad odor. To prevent this, never try to clean out your ears with cotton swabs or other objects. Instead, ask a health care provider to irrigate your ears with water or buy earwax-softening drops at the store.
3. Otosclerosis
The exact cause of otosclerosis isn’t clear, but it can happen as the result of a series of health problems and events. For example, measles and stress fractures in the bones of your inner ear are both linked to this condition. Certain medical conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis and immune system disorders, also can increase your risk.
Otosclerosis is a disease that prevents your middle ear bone from passing sound vibrations to the inner ear, which results in conductive hearing loss. The condition can start in one or both ears and progresses gradually. Usually, people don’t notice it until it has advanced enough to affect their quality of life.
Some of the most common signs of otosclerosis include difficulty hearing in noisy environments or having trouble with lower-pitched sounds. If you have these symptoms, consult your doctor. They may refer you to an otolaryngologist (ear, nose and throat specialist) or an audiologist. Your healthcare provider will start by ruling out other health conditions that have similar symptoms, then conduct tests like an audiogram and tympanogram to measure your hearing sensitivity and middle-ear function.
4. Ear Infections
Ear infections can be very painful. They also affect your hearing, and in some cases cause fluid buildup or a ruptured eardrum. Viruses and bacteria are the main causes of ear infections, which can affect people of all ages. Symptoms include itchy ears, muffled sound and a fever. Ear infections are often accompanied by upper respiratory illnesses like a cold or flu.
The middle ear contains three small bones: the hammer, or malleus; the anvil, or incus; and the stirrup, or stapes. A narrow path called the eustachian tube connects the middle ear to the back of the throat and nose. When the eustachian tube becomes swollen, fluid has a hard time draining, and that’s when an infection starts.
Doctors diagnose ear infections by using a lighted instrument called an otoscope to look into the ear canal. They can see a red, bulging eardrum indicating an infection. Children are the most susceptible to ear infections. Their immune systems are still developing and they’re more social, which means they’re exposed to many other germs.
5. Headphones
Headphones are a regular part of most people’s lives whether listening to music or joining teleconference calls. However, many of us don’t know that the use of headphones or earbuds can have negative effects on our ear health.
Headphone usage can cause hearing loss due to the sound pressure being emitted into the ears. This pressure can increase the volume by 6 to 9 decibels, making the sounds you hear significantly louder than they would be without headphones.
Long-term headphone usage can lead to tinnitus, hearing difficulty and earache as well as excessive ear wax and ear infections. This is because the high decibel noise levels withdraw insulation from nerve fibres that carry signals to the brain.
Headphones and earbuds can also change the flora in your ear canal, resulting in a higher chance of ear infections. Regular cleaning of your headphones or earbuds will help to reduce the amount of bacteria in them. You should also be sure to take breaks when using them for prolonged periods of time and make an effort to listen to music at moderate levels.
6. Medications
Ears are a delicate and important part of the body that can be vulnerable to many different issues. Most people tend to think that hearing loss is a natural part of the aging process, but the truth is that hearing problems can affect all age groups.
Certain medications can impact a person’s hearing and balance by impacting the inner ear. Physicians refer to this side effect as ototoxicity. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, more than 200 prescription and over-the-counter medications can have ototoxic effects.
These medications can include loop diuretics, which are used to treat a variety of health issues like edema and high blood pressure. The reason for this ototoxicity is unclear, but it’s believed that loop diuretics can temporarily increase the permeability of the wall of the cochlear, which isn’t normally penetrated by medicine.
Other medications that can cause ototoxicity include aminoglycoside antibiotics, macrolide antibiotics, antimalarial drugs, and quinine. These drugs can all damage the fragile hair cells of the inner ear, which can lead to hearing loss and tinnitus. To further explore avenues for supporting ear health and mitigating the impact of potential ototoxicity, check out this Sonovive review, offering insights into a supplement designed to promote ear health and overall well-being.
7. High Temperatures
Ear health should be a priority all year long, but it becomes even more important during winter when frigid temperatures and outdoor work can cause a variety of problems. This is why wearing a good pair of ear muffs while working outdoors is a must for anyone who has to spend time outside in cold weather.
Because they are made primarily of cartilage, your ears lack significant insulation from the rest of your body, making them one of the first parts of your body to feel the effects of cold temperatures. It is important to avoid putting items in your ears to stay warm, like cotton swabs or cotton wool, as these can lead to ear canal irritation and fluid buildup.
In addition, prolonged exposure to cold wind can result in a condition known as “surfer’s ear” (or exostosis). It is characterized by an excess of bone growth in the ear canal, which narrows the canal and causes earwax to harden. This can lead to pain, infection and hearing loss.
8. Alcohol
There’s no doubt that heavy alcohol consumption is a bad thing for your health, increasing your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, liver disease, and digestive issues. But it can also damage your hearing. Researchers have found that frequent overindulging in booze creates a toxic environment inside the inner ear, destroying the delicate hair cells that translate soundwaves into electrical impulses your brain can interpret.
These crucial hairs aren’t able to regenerate, so once they die, they don’t grow back, and your hearing begins to degrade. Researchers believe that this is what causes the temporary hearing loss experienced by many people in bars and nightclubs, known as “cocktail deafness.” The good news is that the effects of this type of alcohol abuse are usually short-lived, but repeated episodes could lead to permanent damage over time.
While it’s not possible to reverse this type of damage, a medical detox program can help you quit drinking and get your hearing back. Find out more about detoxing safely and with minimal discomfort today.
