Tinnitus is one of the most common hearing problems that people face and about 48 million people in the States suffer from some form of hearing loss. That is potentially a lot of people who have tinnitus and are suffering from the condition on a daily basis. However, the fact of the matter is that Tinnitus is a condition that you can protect yourself against.
Were you aware of the fact that one of the most common causes of tinnitus is damage to the inner parts of the ear that is a direct result of exposure to loud noise? If you were not aware of this, then the following statistics may shock you even further. It has been proven that about a third of the cases of tinnitus are directly related to being exposed to too loud noises. So, if you are exposed to loud noise, you should consider taking a hearing test.
The results of this condition are very frightening and can really cause a lot of disruptions to daily life. One of the primary outcomes of developing this condition is that you will very often hear sounds that are not really present in the environment. This condition often causes people to hear sounds such as ringing, hissing, buzzing, or sometimes, even whistling. At the beginning of the onset of Tinnitus, these sounds are generally pretty mild but they have the tendency to amplify and be more pronounced as months as years go by. The most frightening part is this fact, that you can get Tinnitus all of a sudden without any prior warning.
It is very important that you realize that tinnitus is not actually a disease by itself. Rather, it is a symptom of another issue that most commonly happens to be some kind of damage to the inner parts of the ear. In order to make sure that you are protected against Tinnitus and to also make sure that your condition does not get worse, we will highly recommend you to follow the outlined tips in this article.
What to do before you are exposed to noise?
As we already mentioned above, exposure to loud noises really does have the potential to cause the condition by itself. If you happen to already have the condition, then such exposure can really make the condition much worse. In order to make sure that you are protected against Tinnitus, make sure that you have planned ahead. This is especially important if you know for a fact that you will be present in an environment that will have loud noise.
One of the most basic things that you can do is to make sure that your ears stay healthy. This is one of the surefire ways to make sure that you do not get this condition. A healthy ear is much more resistant to all sorts of damage, this includes damage from loud noises as well. You ought to also make sure that the diet that you are consuming consumes sufficient amounts of certain vitamins and minerals. This includes making sure that you put a lot of magnesium into your system and also get plenty of vitamin C, A, and also vitamin E. These particular vitamins and minerals really can be an excellent way to make sure that your ear is healthy.
What to do during exposure to loud noises?
If you know that you are going to be in an environment that is noisy, such as a sporting event or maybe a concert, make sure that you take some precautions when at these venues. This includes making sure that you stay away from the speakers and also make sure that you sit a bit further away from the main stage. It is also important that you take some noise breaks about every 15-20 minutes and go to an area that is quiet. This way you can rest your ears and make sure that they are not over-fatigued. This can make sure that the inner cells of the ear are not damaged.
Another way to make sure that your hearing is protected is to make sure that when you listen to music, the setting on the device makes sure that the sound does not exceed the 6 decibels threshold. Approximately, this is about 2 levels below the device’s maximum volume levels. In effect, what this does is that it protects you from getting accidentally exposed to sounds above that 6 dB threshold. Finally, make sure that you always take breaks every 15 minutes or so when listening to music. This will ensure that your ears get the adequate amount of rest needed and are not over-exerted.
What to do after you have been exposed to loud noise
A lot of doctors recommend that you use a particular type of steroid in order to treat a sudden loss of hearing within the first 6 weeks of the hearing loss first taking place. Recently, however, there have been some credible debates as to whether or not if this is actually effective and whether the side effects that occur are worth the risk.
One of the wisest things you can do in the immediate aftermath of exposure to extremely loud noise is to up the intake of the vitamins and minerals that we have listed above. These vitamins and minerals have the potential to stop the damage from the loud noise from taking place. It is, however, always a good idea to talk to your doctor before taking any supplements and to find out if they are right for you or not.
Another important thing is to learn to relax and to let the body run its own healing mechanism after exposure to the loud noise. Two of the leading causes that make this condition much worse are both stress and also fatigue. Therefore, it is of prime importance to make sure that you give yourself and your body the adequate amount of time required to heal itself and to give it the optimal chance of healing.
