Have you noticed that you need people to repeat themselves when they ask you questions? Do you have to turn up the T.V. volume more than usual? Do people have to call you several times before you hear them? If so, you may be experiencing some hearing loss.

It’s an inevitable aspect of aging with physical and emotional challenges. But hearing loss doesn’t have to feel like an unstoppable downhill slide. There are things you can do to slow down its progression, and even restore some of your auditory abilities.

A Deeper Look At the Aging Ear

Throughout life, the ear encounters a vast range of sounds and noises. The structures within the ear also change throughout one’s life. These two constants are responsible for the hearing loss that older adults typically face.

Tiny hair cells coat the inner ear, picking up sound waves and turning them into nerve signals that the brain decodes. Naturally, there is a loss of these hair cells as we age, leading to a reduced ability to receive sound and therefore, less input for the brain to interpret. These hair cells don’t grow back, making their loss permanent.

To make matters worse, a lifetime of exposure to loud sounds from youth throughout middle age to one’s older years can accelerate the loss of these cells. Repeated exposure to loud noise – typically defined as being above 85 decibels (dB) – kills off cells before their time and damages the membranes of the cochlea. Also, the noise overwhelms nerves and damages their ability to transmit information to the brain. That’s why people will certain careers or hobbies are more likely to experience premature or accelerated hearing loss as they age.

There’s also the issue of genetics and health conditions. Researchers have discovered that some genes are known to accelerate hearing loss or cause total hearing loss in certain instances. Chronic conditions such as diabetes, chronic kidney disease, heart disease and even Alzheimer’s disease can lead to further hearing loss as well.

Individuals With An Increased Risk For Hearing Loss In Old Age

• Construction workers
• Airport workers
• Factory workers
• Musicians and concert-goers
• Firearms specialists and trainees
• Individuals with chronic health problems
• Genetic predisposition / Family history of early or serious hearing loss
• Those with a history of smoking & drug use

Moving Away From Silence

The question many of you now have is whether you can pause hearing loss or even reverse it. It’s a reasonable question because your quality of life can certainly diminish if you don’t hear well. With that said, the short answer is yes – you can slow hearing loss down and even improve your ear health with the right treatments and approach.

The Restorative Power Of a Hearing Aid

The most popular and effective treatment for older adults who have significant hearing loss is a hearing aid. It works by means of three components – a microphone, an amplifier and a speaker.

The microphone receives the sound and then converts the sound waves into electric signals which then go to the amplifier. Finally, the amplifier increases the strength of the signals and then pumps them through the speaker. This results in a clearer sound that the person would not have heard on their own.

Depending on the severity of your hearing loss, a hearing can restore a great deal of clarity to your ear (and your mind). For the many, the difference is night and day.

Increase Exposure to Natural Sounds

Your ear is an amazingly adaptable and flexible organ, and this is even more true with your brain. You can train your brain (and to some extent, your ears) to pick up more discreet and subtle sounds. How?

You can do this by simply taking a walk. Walking in a quiet park or field gives the ears a break from loud noises and increase your exposure to quieter sounds. Assuming your hearing loss isn’t too advanced, you can make a concentrated effort to locate sounds such as bird calls, water streams or other ambient noises that naturally emerge from nature. This can even turn into a meditative exercise that reduces stress.

On the flip side, make sure to reduce your exposure to unnatural and loud sounds, whether it be from machinery, music or even home equipment that generate piercing noises in a repetitive fashion.

Improve Hearing Loss By Improving Your Nutrition

Your nutrition plays a major role in how well your ears function. You can’t just eat your way into reversing hearing loss that’s happened over the decades, but research shows that some vitamins and minerals do keep one’s hearing sharp.

For example, vitamins A, C, E, B12 and B9 (folate) all affect hearing loss for better or worse – the former when there’s adequate intake, the latter when there’s a deficiency. Minerals such as magnesium, potassium and zinc also appear to have benefits for the ear, so it’s wise to boost your intake of foods containing these nutrients as well.

Echoing A Hopeful Message

Hearing loss is no doubt challenging and frustrating. At times, it may feel like there’s little, if anything, you can do to stop hearing loss, much less reverse it. But the reality is that you can keep your ears healthy despite not being able to hear as clearly as you once did.

It takes a combination of approaches to restore a better sense of hearing – equipment (namely, a hearing aid), protection (reducing exposure to excessive noise) and nutrition (nutrient-rich foods).

If you make the effort to keep maintain these three pillars, you will no doubt hear the difference.