Ear Care: Are You Taking Proper Care Of Your Ears?

Around 1 in 6 people in the UK have hearing loss and quite often, the reason for their issues are because of poor ear care. Our ears, while often taken very much for granted are actually a very sensitive organ. It’s easy to forget about taking good care of your ears when you’re not having any issues with them and in fact, many people only take notice of them when an issue arises. So, do you know how to take good care of your ears and more importantly, are you taking measures to prevent hearing problems in the future? Here’s some advice so that you can have optimal hearing for as long as possible.

If you suffer from hearing loss and wear hearing aids, your first port of call when experiencing more ear troubles than normal is to have your hearing aids checked professionally for defaults. However, you can do some hearing aid troubleshooting yourself that could save you a trip to the audiologist.

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If there’s nothing wrong with your hearing aids, or you’re experiencing unexplained deafness such as congestion from the common cold, then you should book yourself an appointment with an audiologist as soon as possible to diagnose your issue. Avoiding making an appointment could lead to irreversible damage to your ears, so as soon as you notice anything out of the ordinary, book yourself in.

In the meantime, there are other things that you can do to take good care of your ears and prolong your hearing such as:

Keeping objects out of your ears

This sounds a little obvious, but you’d be surprised at the objects that have been put into people’s ears to try and relieve what they think is a wax build up. There’s a saying - “never stick anything bigger than your elbow in your ears”, and it’s there for a reason! Putting items into your ear canal can damage your hearing permanently. It’s frustrating, but wait it out and see a doctor instead!

Use wax softeners

Sometimes wax does build up in the ear, and although socially ear wax is seen as disgusting, it’s actually good for your ears! It provides lubrication for the ear canal and prevents infection and water entering your ears. When the wax is removed, you’re actually more likely to catch an ear infection because your ear is more exposed. This can sometimes be why, when you’ve had a cold, you catch an ear infection because you’ve cleared your ears thinking it’s a wax build up! Try not to mistake congestion with a wax build up and protect your ears by using a wax softener instead.

Clean your ears safely

Finally, it’s important to keep your ears clean. Even though the wax is good for the ears, not cleaning them can also lead to infections. Take a warm damp cloth and place it over your ear. The heat will drag out dirt and then you simply gently wipe your ear clean! Remember if you’re worried about wax build up to always speak to a professional before taking any action.