How Important Is Your Ear? Check Out These 5 Bad Ear Habits

Do you know how important your ear and hearing are? My guess is that you’ll agree they're important. But do you REALLY have an idea HOW important?

First things first: the ear is the hearing organ of the body. It’s the job of the ears to make hearing possible. Without your ears, something looks off. Without your ears, you lose out on some of the most beautiful things in life.

Around us are important and incredible sounds that make life worth living. I saw a video on social media: there was this little child who couldn’t hear. She looked bored and gloomy but all that changed when she could hear (thanks to hearing aids). Her reaction was priceless and her smile was legendary. That’s how important hearing is to us.

Without hearing, we can’t connect or communicate with the people around us. The ability to speak and respond to others begins with your ability to hear; not just hear but also to hear properly. If you can’t hear, you’ll feel left out when you’re in the midst of family and friends.

Taking care of the ears is essential. For one, there are so many wonderful people all over the world who, through one circumstance or the other, have lost the use of their ears. If you still have yours, you owe it to them not to be ungrateful of the gift you have. There are bad habits we’ve imbibed over the years that are harmful to the ears. Let’s take a look at some of them.

1. Smoking and Vaping

Cigarettes contain a voluminous amount of nicotine which is where the problem lies. Nicotine hinders the flow of blood to the ears which affects the ear cells and kills THEM gradually. The more you keep smoking, the higher your risk of ear damage. Even if you’re a second-hand smoker, you are at risk of experiencing hearing loss.

Vaping has the same effect. Like cigarettes, they contain a high level of nicotine that affects the ear, specifically the hair in your ear designed to ward off dirt.

The e-juices or flavored fluids in e-cigars have hundreds of chemicals that are harmful to the ear and body. One of such juices is propylene glycol which has been linked to sudden hair loss.

2. Stress

Stress does more than affect your body and mind; it also affects the ears and brings tinnitus which makes you hear a noise in your ears. When you reduce your stress levels, it reduces the level and awareness of tinnitus symptoms (for those who have tinnitus).

When you reduce your stress levels, you learn to relax and you reduce your anxiety levels; you help your ears by reducing the risk of tinnitus.

3. Ignoring Ear problems

Some people notice they have hearing challenges and live with it without seeking help from professionals. If you do this, you’re ignoring the possible long term effects of the damage done to your ear. These include which is a higher risk of cognitive decline, dementia, and eventually, complete hearing loss.

I met someone who couldn’t hear properly and I asked her why she hadn’t gone to see a doctor. She said she didn’t want to use hearing aids.

If you notice you have any challenges with your ears, schedule an appointment with your doctor immediately. If you have to use hearing aids, then do so to save your ears.

4. Excessive drinking

Too much drinking can affect your liver and your overall health. It affects the brain’s ability to recognize and interpret sounds (especially sounds with lower frequencies). Excessive drinking can also generate a toxic environment in the inner ear. This will damage the hair cells of the ear.

Excessive drinking can negatively affect the nerve in the brain that’s responsible for processing sound. This impairs your ability to interpret sounds. In case you didn’t get it by now, that is not a good thing.

Poking (own it, we're all guilty)

I loved poking things into my ears because it was fun. Who else hides a hairpin in their hair for poking the ear now and then? I’ve had to stop.

In fact, using cotton buds to clean ear wax is a bad habit. Besides the fact that it’s a bad habit, it absorbs and takes out the natural oils produced in the ears. Cotton buds can also lead to permanent hearing loss, infections, earaches, itchiness, tinnitus, and balance problems.

If earwax builds up in your ears, visit professionals who are trained to clean the ears without taking out the oils.

In conclusion, remember that the ears are important not just because they aid the body’s balance but also because they help you live a fuller life. Be kind to your ears and they will be kind to you.