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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