5 Tips To Look After Your Ears
One thing we probably all don’t think about looking after much is our ears.
Yet they are such an important part of our body and something we should really learn to take care of.
To help you take care of your ears this year, here are 5 tips to look after your ears.
Don’t Use Cotton Buds in Your Ears.
I think many of us are guilty of this one, but using cotton buds in your ears is a big no.
Your ear canals are actually self-cleaning and a little bit of wax isn’t a big deal.
While sticking things you shouldn’t in your ears, can actually cause damage to vital parts of your ear; such as the eardrums.
If you are suffering from too much wax in your ears, speaking to the experts is the best thing to do.
Use Ear Protection.
If you are going to be around loud noises, be that down to equipment at work, or noise during your leisure time, then make sure you protect your ears.
While you might think it’s uncool to wear earbuds at a concert, it is most definitely better to protect your hearing in the long term.
Turn Down The Sound.
Following on from using ear protection in loud situations. It is almost a must to remember to turn the volume down.
There is actually a 60/60 suggestion; which suggests you should not listen to more than 60 minutes of music at 60% volume each day.
Where possible go for headphones which fit over and not in your ear. This is due to the fact in-ear headphones sit directly near to the eardrum.
Keep Your Ears Dry.
After bathing or swimming it is always best to make sure your ears are dry, or bacteria can grow.
If you can feel any water in your ear after such activities; tip your head to one side and gently tug on the ear lobe to help the water come out.
For those who swim a lot, special earplugs which stop water entering the ear canal can be bought.
Allow Your Ears Time To Recover.
If you have been around loud noise, no matter what the cause. You need to give your ears time to recover.
It is suggested you need 16 hours of recovery for 2 hours spend around noise that is 100dB.
Remember it is never too early in your life to start looking after your ears and your health.
So keep on top of these tips and check out some for yourself and hopefully, you and your ears will live in perfect harmony.
Do you have a top tip when it comes to ear care?
This is a collaborative post.
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Great advice here. I had no idea that earbuds are harmful!
Advice like this is always welcome. Thanks for sharing with us.
So many people still use cotton buds in their ears, we had someone in our doctors’ surgery the other week who had actually lost the cotton bud in his ear as it had come away from the stem!
Oh gosh, that is so scary!
Some really great tips. Thank you for sharing.
My doctor once warned me jokingly – never put anything into your earhole that is smaller than your elbow!
I have to admit I’ve heard this before as well!
Never take your hearing for granted – speaking from someone who is now almost totally deaf, I really miss listening to birds singing, and so frustrating not being able to communicate with my grandkids
Oh gosh I can’t imagine what that is like 🙁 I am so sorry.
That is really interesting. I am a secretary and I do audio typing everyday, I bet I am damaging my ear lots!! We do neglect our ears dont we
It is scary how much we do really I think – it’s just something we don’t think about until something goes wrong.
I get a fair bit of temporary deafness as I swim a lot
Oh no! It’s a nightmare when it happens isn’t it?
great article, its so important to protect your ears
Thank you – it really is isn’t it.
After working in a noisy factory for years without ear protection I suffer from tinnitus which sounds like cicadas 24/7. If my ears get blocked I go to the doctor to have them syringed with water.
Oh gosh that isn’t good at all :(, I bet it is horrid having to live with it 24/7.
I do clean my ears but dont take them seriously until I suffer from earache
I think it’s so simple to forget about taking care of them.
These are some wonderful tips! I had no idea that earbuds are harmful!
They can be awful – so many people don’t realise though.
Really interesting. Im a gigging musician and I worry about my hearing all the time
Oh gosh yeah I bet that can be such a worry for you 🙁
I used to use cotton buds in my ears years ago. It wasn’t until I learned this was bad for them that I stopped.
It is amazing how many people still do and don’t know, it is just such a common thing.
I have this reoccurring stabbing pain in my right ear. It will hit for 3-4 hours then not come back for 3-4 weeks. Gotta check that out.
Oh no that’s not good at all definitely get it checked out.
Great advice, I have used cotton buds in my ears before but now use olive oil to clean out any ear wax, it works a treat.
Ohh I’m going to have to look into that – sounds like a good idea!
I like to swim a lot and tend to ignore the tip to keep my ears dry but it is such an important one to be mindful of. I am also trying to stop using cotton buds to pry into my ears!
It is something I didn’t think of when I was younger – it’s now obvious why I was always suffering with my ears.
I have been thinking of having that ear wax treatment where they use a candle stick that you burn to withdraw the ear wax. i have heard its meant to be great for your ears amongst other things.
I’ve seen that’s meant to be quite good – it seems weird having a candle in your ear though.
This is such great advice, I had a lot of ear problems as a child so I tend to take better care of my ears now because of this.
I bet, sometimes when you have been there your do everything to stop yourself from going back.
This post turned out to have some very useful tips to help with ear care.
I am glad it was useful to people.
I didn’t know about the 60/60 suggestion so thanks for enlightening me! I wear headphones to listen to TV when the kids sleep so not to disturb them and maybe I need to adjust the volume.
Definitely have a check a lovely thing to do to use headphones when the kids are in bed.
Awesome blog post! I don’t use ear buds and I can see how they might cause problems. I do keep my ears dry at least
It is worrying how much they can damage your ears sometimes!
I didn’t know not cotton buds were bad to use in your ears. I was always taught to clean them by my mum from a very young age. Some great tips and no no more cotton buds on my shopping list.
A lot of people don’t realise I don’t think 🙁 it’s scary how dangerous they can be though.
I agree about the ear protection at gigs! I think I suffered a bit of hearing loss from loud music when I was younger. I just can’t take it now
It’s hard isn’t it – it’s so much fun when your young going to gigs but you can really pay for it.
These are great tips! Our hearing is very important and it’s good to make sure we don’t damage our ears on a daily basis.
It really is and yet it is so easy to forget to look after them well.
These are great tips. I used to clean my ear using cotton buds for years, not anymore.
It is something so many people did and do I think – I know I used to!
I take ear health for granted, until I get an ear infection, or something else. I’ll have to start using these tips for better ears!
I know that feeling! I used to get a lot of ear infections when I was younger but not so much now.
My daughter is hard of hearing, so ear protection and health is something we focus a lot on. I, however, am still guilty of some “ear sins.” It’s great to have reminders!
It is so easy to do some of them isn’t it – I’m sure I still listen to things too loudly at times.
Most people don’t realize the damage that headphones or earbuds do to your hearing long-term. I try to keep this in mind when I use mine but I try not to use them at all. I’d much rather listen to music on a portable speaker or something just to save my hearing.
It can make such a difference can’t it? I try not to have mine too loud – but I’m sure I probably do at times.
Yikes! I am so guilty of using cotton buds. And I use it everyday after taking a shower. Thank you for the tips.
Your welcome – I hope it helps 🙂 I think there are alternatives out there to cotton buds 🙂
I do still use cotton buds but only use them around the outside of my ear, rather than inside
I think it’s OK around the outside, it’s when you start putting them inside.
You really don’t think much about your ears until a problem comes along. Earaches are the worst! My husband has a bit of hearing issues now because he used to have a loud speaker system in his car when he was a teen. Never thought much about it back then, but he’s sure paying for it now!
I think that’s true of so many people – it can be so painful when a problem hits though can’t it? Oh no! What a shame for your husband.
I should get a pair of earplugs to wear while watching TV with my husband. He is hard of hearing and refuses to get hearing aids. I’m afraid that the volume is damaging my hearing.
Oh no that is a nightmare for you. Hopefully, he will change his mind at some point for your own ear health.
Some great advice here, and have to admit, this is something i never think about my ears, because i never seem to have trouble i just think, everything is ok, but one day perhaps i will have an ear complaint
Yeah I think it is something that can creep up on people over time.
I have noticed a significant deterioration in my ear health. I am really glad I saw this; I did not know most of this.
Oh no, I am sorry you’re noticing some issues in your hearing.
I know I need to take better care of my ears. I am working on it! I do try to always keep them dry. I hate wet ears, ick.
It’s horrid isn’t it – I hate when water gets in.
to be honest i haven’t done my best with this but def consider it if my ears ever get clogged from too much wax and i cant hear – its the worst. ill be sharing a few tips with my friends too!
I used to suffer from too much wax when I was a child it was horrid!
It is so true we do not appreciate the gift of hearing and our ears enough. I do not use ear buds but I am afraid they may not be so good for our kids’ ears.
It is so easy to take it for granted much like eye sight I think.
A very interesting blog post. My husband has had tinnitus for many years and that was as a result of receiving too many courses of antibiotics for a chest infection. We are always warning our granddaughters about the damage that the noise from concerts they attend could harm their hearing
Oh gosh, it’s amazing what can set tinnitus off – I was reading about the other day and stress can cause it as well.