
Ear Health
How can we protect our ear health? Hearing loss is considered a major cause of global disability, ranking among the top chronic conditions affecting older adults. Because of impaired communication, this may lead to social isolation, loneliness, and depression. It may even threaten one’s life due to an associated increase in motor vehicle accidents. Hearing aids can help and are considered the first-line clinical management tool for those seeking help for hearing difficulties.
Are there measures we can take to protect our ear health? Promote it?
Researchers have found that diets rich in cholesterol and saturated fats have deleterious effects on hearing that could be prevented by lowering consumption, and the Blue Mountains Hearing Study, which enrolled thousands of older men and women, found dietary cholesterol to be the nutritional component most associated with age-related hearing loss. Those eating about two eggs’ worth of cholesterol a day had 34 percent greater odds of hearing loss compared to those only getting about a single egg’s worth.
The extent and severity of coronary artery disease in the heart were found to be closely correlated to hearing loss. Since atherosclerosis is a systemic disease affecting the entire arterial tree, this has relevance for the arteries feeding the inner ear. The greater the plaque, the poorer the hearing, and the greater the risk of further hearing impairment measured over the subsequent five years. Early autopsy data suggest and direct imaging studies show a direct correlation between the degree of hearing loss and atherosclerotic narrowing of those arteries.
Should we clean our ears to promote good ear health? Earwax is normal, and if it’s not causing symptoms, it should be left alone. It doesn’t start interfering with hearing acuity until it clogs at least 80 percent of the ear canal. Ironically, hearing aids are a risk factor for excessive earwax, as is anything else we put into our ear, like earplugs and cotton-tipped swabs, since they stimulate the earwax glands. We shouldn’t need to clean our ear canals at all because the wax should make its way out on its own. Our ears are self-cleaning.
For substantiation of any statements of fact from the peer-reviewed medical literature, please see the associated videos below.
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Popular Videos for Ear Health


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The Best Way to Remove Ear Wax
Irrigation (also called ear syringing), which involves flushing out ear wax with a low-pressure jet of warm (body temperature) water, works up to 70 to 90 percent of the time.
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Are There Any Benefits to Ear Candling?
Photographs are taken inside the ear canal before and after ear candling to put it to the test.
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The Effects of Cell Phones and Bluetooth on Nerve Function
What impact might cell phone and Bluetooth radiation have on the inner ear?
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Cell Phone Brain Tumor Risk?
What does the world’s leading authority on carcinogens have to say about mobile phones?
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What are hiccups, why do we get them, and what can we do about them?
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California Children Are Contaminated
The levels of arsenic, banned pesticides, and dioxins exceeded cancer benchmarks in each of the 364 children tested. Which foods were the primary sources of toxic pollutants for preschoolers and their parents?
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Are Cats or Dogs More Protective for Children’s Health?
Sharing one’s home with a cat or dog may decrease the risk of infectious diseases in children—including ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and gastroenteritis.
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Poultry and Penis Cancer
The largest study to date on poultry workers found a significantly increased risk of dying from penile cancer, thought to be due to exposure to oncogenic (cancer-causing) chicken viruses, which raise consumer concerns as well.
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Some Ayurvedic Medicine Worse than Lead Paint Exposure
Triphala, a combination of three fruits—amla, bibhitaki, and haritaki—is the most commonly used herbal formulation in Ayurvedic medicine, and may have powerful anticancer properties. Unfortunately, one in five Ayurvedic herbal dietary supplements were found contaminated with lead, mercury, and/or arsenic.
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Wart Cancer Viruses in Food
The wart-causing viruses in animals may present more than just a cosmetic issue for consumers.