Hearing is an incredible gift from nature. It not only enables us to enjoy all the subtle things in life but it's also a crucial part of our body’s natural reflexes. Life is just not the same when there’s a problem with our hearing.
In today's world, we are constantly exposed to sounds. Some of them can be soothing, while some of them are quite harsh for our ears. If a sound exceeds 85 dB, it is considered noise. Regular exposure to noise can seriously impact our hearing health.
Almost 35 million Americans are currently suffering from some degree of hearing loss. While this number mostly includes people over 60 years of age, that doesn’t mean younger people aren't at risk for hearing loss and without proper ear care these numbers will only rise.
Hearing is essential in our day-to-day life, so it's important to avoid damaging our ears whenever possible and actively caring for them. The good news is that you can improve your hearing effectively with a healthy lifestyle and natural ear exercises resulting in healthy hearing and a better quality of life for years to come.
What are these magical exercises, you ask? Well, they aren't magical, and anyone can follow them easily and incorporate them into their daily routine.
Keep reading to discover what will benefit you most and fit in with your lifestyle.
How to Make Your Hearing Better With Hearing Aids
Just as glasses do not “cure” farsightedness or nearsightedness, hearing aids can improve your ability to hear and communicate with the world around you, but they cannot “cure” hearing loss.
With the help of a hearing aid, other people won’t need to constantly yell at you or repeat what they said. Better hearing will also enable you to socialize again and no longer feel left out of conversations. Hearing aids can also help you avoid accidents by restoring your natural reflexes.
Many people with hearing loss shy away from asking for help. This only makes their condition worse and often results in withdrawal from social gatherings. This can lead to depression and other mental health conditions. One can avoid all of these things with the help of a proper diagnosis and a pair of hearing aids.
Thank goodness, the old days of gigantic trumpets and messy wired devices are way behind us. Modern hearing aids are smart, manageable, and come in different sizes and shapes. Based on your needs and recommendations from your audiologist, you now have access to a large selection of models and styles of hearing aids. The ability to now buy hearing aids online has made the devices more affordable for all.
If you or a loved one are concerned about hearing loss, make sure to contact an ENT professional or an audiologist as soon as possible. The sooner you take action, the sooner you can get back to enjoying your life.
How Can You Improve Your Hearing Naturally?
Modern technology provides us with many things to help us live a happy and healthy life even if we have a disability. But nothing is as effective as our natural ability. So, if you don’t already suffer from hearing loss, there are ways you can take care of your hearing health naturally. Our bodies are complicated biological machines and every machine works better when it is taken care of properly. So, how do you take care of your hearing machine, aka your ears? Here are some natural ways to improve hearing:
1. Quit Smoking
Blood flow and oxygen are crucial for maintaining healthy cells in the body. Your inner ear is built with hair cells that cannot be repaired once damaged. When you smoke, you inhale carbon monoxide as well as other harmful substances. These elements can be extremely damaging to your hair cells.
Additionally, smoking can irritate the lining of your middle ear and impair it's natural function. It may surprise you to learn that nicotine is very much responsible for causing ringing in your ears, known as tinnitus. Some experts also believe that nicotine can hamper the carrying of sound signals from the ear to the brain.
Overall, smoking is harmful to your hearing health and research confirms this. It can also affect the hearing of a non-smoker like your child or anyone close to you. If you were looking for yet another reason to quit smoking, here it is! Learn more about the effects of passive smoking on hearing health here.
2. Get Your Hearing Checked Regularly
For the most part, hearing loss is an irreversible condition. However, early detection can help you avoid further hearing damage. Some people also claim that they regained their natural hearing after using hearing aids properly for a specific time.
3. Evaluate Your Diet
Some foods can be beneficial to hearing health as well as your overall health. These foods are:
- Fresh-water fish
- Whole-grain foods
- Seeds and nuts
Almost all vegetables contain some of the essential vitamins and minerals for our body. Also, antioxidants can help neutralize free radicals from building up throughout the body. When vitamins and antioxidants work in harmony, they optimize our ear health.
Vitamin B promotes blood circulation to keep the body healthy. Your ears can experience severe problems if there is a lack of blood circulation, so be sure to add a variety of foods rich in B vitamins to your diet or take it in supplement form.
Foods high in salt and heavy metals can damage hearing health and foods high in saturated animal fat, can clog the arteries to hamper blood flow and damage nerves.
4. Natural Vitamin Supplements
We cannot stress enough the importance of the right balance of vitamins and minerals for hearing health. Magnesium, zinc, folic acid and other B vitamins have properties essential for healthy hearing. Be sure to include foods in your diet that are rich in these or take them in supplement form. If you are considering supplements, make sure to discuss them with a health practitioner first.
5. Cleaning Ear Wax
Ear wax is a natural defence mechanism to keep harmful substances away from delicate areas. While it is vital to have wax in your ear canal, too much buildup can impact your hearing.
Wax build up in the ear is common and can be easily solved. But don't try to remove excessive wax build up yourself with a cotton swab. Not only is it inefficient, but it also can cause damage to the eardrum. The safest way to remove heavy wax buildup from your ears is to have them cleaned professionally.
Ear Exercises to Naturally Improve Hearing
Exercising can be an efficient way to make your hearing better. With the help of some simple yoga poses, it is possible to improve hearing loss and other hearing problems like tinnitus. As yoga improves your blood circulation, it helps in promoting nerve function and relaxes the muscle tissue. Therefore, your inner ear can stay healthy for years to come.
Be sure to discuss with a trainer or health care provider before you try a new exercise routine. Here are six yoga poses that can be beneficial for your hearing health.
Head Rotation: This one is very straightforward. Rotate your head slowly clockwise, then anticlockwise several times. Go as far as you can reach without over stretching or causing pain. Do this a couple of times every day. This will relax your neck muscles and promote blood flow.
Neck Extension and Flexion: For this pose, you will need to move your neck up and down like you are saying yes. Keep your chin tucked while you look down, and then slowly bring your face up to look at the ceiling or at the sky. This pose will also help you to increase range of motion as well as your hearing.
Legs Up the Wall: Lay down next to a wall or sturdy vertical surface and stretch your legs upward on the surface. Relax in this position for up to 15 minutes. This will increase circulation, relieve tension from your feet and legs, and help to relax your nervous system.- Start on your hands and knees.
- Lift your knees and extend your tailbone gently.
- Push the top of your thighs back and align your knees to a comfy level without locking them.
- This pose will help you with digestion, back pain, fatigue, and headaches, along with tinnitus symptoms.
- Lie on your stomach.
- Put your palms under your shoulders like you are about to do some push-ups.
- Raise your head, neck, and torso as much as you can without overextending or causing pain.
Tree: Tree posing is all about balance and, of course, blood circulation. Start by standing straight; rest your palms in front of your chest together. Or, raise your arms above your head. Next, lift one leg and place it on the other leg’s ankle, calf, or thigh. If you struggle to keep balance, you can hold on to a nearby sturdy surface. Take deep breaths through your nose while holding the pose.
Reversing Hearing Loss at Home
There are many people who recommend natural remedies for reversing hearing loss. While there is very little research done, these remedies can improve blood circulation and relax your nerves. Both of these things are supportive of hearing health, so feel free to try them at home. No harm in that, right?
Keep in mind the importance of high quality ingredients if you would like to give some of these remedies a try. One of the crucial ingredients is essential oils, and the FDA doesn't regulate them, so make sure to seek advice from a health care practitioner and choose a good quality brand.
1. Ginger Tea
Combine the ingredients below and boil them for fifteen minutes in a covered pot.
- 4 cups of water
- 3 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 tbsp cilantro
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp oregano
- 1 tbsp rosemary
- 1 tbsp sage
After boiling, strain the tea in a cup, and your ginger tea is ready. Drink this tea three times a day for three weeks minimum.
2. Tea Tree Oil
Many people believe in tea tree oil for treating hearing loss. Mix the ingredients listed below and heat them. Then put the cooled mixture in your ear and stay still for five minutes.
- 3 drops of tree oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp colloidal silver
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Be sure to discuss this remedy with your health care practitioner prior to administering it and use caution.
3. Ginkgo Biloba Extract
Natural healers highly favor this extract. They recommend you take 60 to 240 mg of Ginkgo Biloba extract per day to help with your tinnitus condition.
What Can You Do to Avoid Hearing Loss
While hearing loss is often associated with aging or even genetic markers, exposure to loud noises and bad habits can also trigger this condition. So, what can you do to avoid hearing loss?
You can't stay home for the rest of your life to avoid losing your hearing, but you can take precautions. If you know you are going to a noisy area or event, protect your ears and pack your earplugs or noise-canceling headphones! Exposure to loud noises, such as music concerts, construction sites, or loud machinery, can all damage your hearing.
Avoid bad habits like smoking or alcohol consumption. Also, make sure to add greens to your diet and limit fatty foods as much as possible. Read more about how alcohol affects hearing loss.
While you cannot avoid the natural process of hearing loss with age, you can slow it down by taking action to improve your hearing. Do hearing exercises and regularly check in with your audiologist for hearing check-ups. Early detection is key to prevention.
If you use hearing aids, make sure to use them regularly to avoid the risk of worsening your condition. Untreated hearing loss can result in long-term side effects like vertigo or dementia.
Wrap Up
While there are many natural ways to maintain and improve your hearing, a healthy lifestyle is the key to overall health and hearing health! If there are some bad habits or lifestyle choices standing in the way of your health, try making one small change at a time. The best time to start is NOW!
Hearing aids can help you get your life back. If hearing loss is detected early enough, it is even possible to regain the actual hearing ability that you previously had. So, don’t shy away from using the devices if you need them.
Regular hearing health check ups are always a great idea. This way, you can be aware of what’s going on in your body, and preserve and protect your hearing.
References:
Nano Hearing Aids has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial privacy policy.
Shafey O, Dolwick S, Guindon GE. The tobacco control country profiles. Atlanta: American Cancer Society; 2003. [Google Scholar]
Fletcher CM, Peto R. The natural history of the chronic airflow obstruction. BMJ. 1977;i:1645–8.
