how to protect your ears

Tips on How To Protect Your Hearing This Spring

In Uncategorized by Dr. Arica Black, AuD

Dr. Arica Black, AuD

Now that spring is upon us, we can all enjoy the warmer weather and blooming flowers. However, springtime can also come with many things that can negatively impact your hearing capabilities. Thankfully, there are ways to avoid this. Here are a few good tips on how to protect your hearing during springtime.

Wear Hearing Protection

The warmer weather allows us to do more outdoor work, such as mowing the lawn or cutting tree branches. Because of this, your ears are more susceptible to noises from chainsaws, leaf blowers, lawnmowers, and other loud tools.

It’s best if you wear hearing protection while operating these types of tools. This can protect your ears from the hazardous levels of noise that these tools tend to produce.

Brands such as SoundGear have quality hearing protection that can reduce the noise your ears are exposed to.

Deal With Temperature Changes

Sudden temperature changes can cause a pressure imbalance in your ears, making your ears feel stopped up. Just because it’s spring doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t think about protection from cold weather. Keep your ears dry and warm by wearing ear warmers, earmuffs, and other similar gear.

Act on Your Allergies As Soon as Possible

Seasonal allergies can make your hearing worse because they can cause the eustachian tubes to become inflamed and swollen. Due to the swelling and inflammation, the result could be fluid build-up, which can block the ear and cause difficulty hearing. A lot of Americans today have allergic rhinitis, or hay fever, that can be triggered because of a variety of allergens, such as pollen.

To deal with this, doctors usually recommend over-the-counter medications such as antihistamines and decongestants. Your doctor can also recommend lifestyle and diet changes to deal with allergic reactions.

Contact Your Audiologist for Proper Ear Cleaning

Never use a cotton swab to clean your ears. If you ever feel like your hearing is getting weaker, it’s best to have your audiologist check to see if it’s due to excessive ear wax. Improper cleaning can damage your ear further and push the wax deeper into your ear canal. Your audiologist can safely and effectively clean your ears if needed.

To check our list of services, contact the Hearing Doctor today. Our audiologists can help you with your hearing problems this spring season.