The risk of hearing issues increases as you get older and you cannot always avoid potential problems. It is important that you take steps to protect your hearing, especially if you are exposed to a lot of loud noises. There are a lot of simple habits that could be damaging your hearing and many people don’t even realize it.

Changing these bad habits is the best way to avoid hearing problems in the future, and the earlier you make a change, the better protected you will be. These are the bad habits that could be damaging your hearing. 

Digging Around In Your Ears 

If you have a lot of wax in your ears and they get itchy, you may decide to get a cotton wool bud or even your finger and start digging around in your ears to remove wax. However, earwax should naturally drain from your ears and there is no need to dig it out yourself. If you are constantly poking around in your ears and putting things down them, you may cause a lot of ear damage and this will lead to issues like tinnitus or hearing loss in the future. If you have a little bit of wax in your ears, that is normal and you don’t need to do anything about it. But if your ears are blocked up and it is causing you a lot of discomfort, it is important to seek advice from a hearing specialist. They will be able to syringe your ears and remove wax safely, so you don’t damage them by digging around in them yourself. 

Smoking 

Everybody knows that smoking is a bad habit, but did you know that it can actually damage your hearing as well. When you smoke, the nicotine restricts blood flow to the ears and this can cause lasting damage. This effect can also be present in people that are exposed to secondhand smoke, so you could be damaging the hearing of those around you as well. If you needed another reason to give up smoking, you should seriously consider the impact that it could have on your hearing. 

Excessive Drinking 

We often talk about the health issues associated with alcohol, but many people are unaware of the impact that it can have on their hearing. It is thought that excessive alcohol abuse can affect the way that your brain processes sound and this can lead to long lasting hearing damage. Alcohol also causes damage to the cells inside the ear, which does irreversible damage to your hearing. If you get a handle on your drinking early on, a lot of this damage may be reversed and your hearing will return to normal. However, if you continue to drink excessively, you will do lasting damage that cannot be reversed and you will be far more likely to lose your hearing in later life. 

It is important that you change these habits right away if you want to protect your hearing for longer and avoid hearing loss.