For many, that ringing in their ears is a common occurrence and nothing to worry about. However, it’s actually caused by a condition called tinnitus, and its severity can vary from person to person.
The good news is that it’s considered relatively harmless in most cases, and it’s only a mild annoyance for many. However, some people can get distracted by that ringing, making it more difficult to concentrate or sleep at night.
With that said, here are six useful tips that can help you prevent tinnitus:
- Protect your ears from loud noises.
Loud noises are one of the most common causes of tinnitus. While the ringing in your ears after hearing loud noises is usually temporary, repeated exposure to loud noises can damage the sensitive structures in your ears, causing persistent tinnitus. In severe cases, it can even lead to permanent hearing loss.
To avoid this, you will need to protect your ears from constant loud noises. In this case, you can use protective layers or devices like soft earplugs to muffle the loud sounds.
- Keep the volume levels low.
Another way to prevent tinnitus is by keeping your music’s volume levels low. That’s because sounds that are more than 70 decibels can potentially harm your ears, especially with repeated prolonged exposure.
While it can be tempting to turn up the volume to drown out the noise around you, especially when you’re commuting, doing so might actually do you more harm than good.
If external noises prevent you from immersing yourself in the music, going for noise-canceling headphones can be a good idea.
- Be mindful of your head’s posture.
Being mindful of your head’s posture can prevent you from suffering neck injuries, which can also prevent you from experiencing tinnitus. So, make sure you always maintain a proper posture, especially when sitting for long periods.
You can also opt for office ergonomics to ensure you maintain a proper posture throughout the workday.
- Reduce the stress in your life.
Being too stressed out can also be another factor that causes your tinnitus. That’s because stress can cause your muscles to contract involuntarily, which aggravates your perception of tinnitus sounds.
To prevent this from happening, it’s best to manage the stress in your life by practicing helpful relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or just taking a walk outside. Reducing the stress you feel can prevent not only tinnitus but other diseases and conditions as well.
- Improve your heart health and circulation.
Tinnitus can also be caused by certain blood vessel disorders, especially when your heart works extra hard to pump your blood throughout the body. That’s because the blood can flow more forcefully in certain areas, like your ears, which can lead to you hearing that ringing sound.
So, to avoid this, you need to ensure your heart and circulation are healthy. You can do this by avoiding food items rich in cholesterol or those that can significantly raise your blood pressure. You can also improve your body’s circulation with regular exercise and a healthier diet.
- Quit smoking.
Smoking is associated with many harmful diseases, such as heart disease, lung disease, stroke, cancer, among many others.
Smoking can also cause tinnitus since it can restrict the blood flow in your body, which means your heart will have to put in more effort to ensure the blood circulates properly. This, in turn, can make your tinnitus worse.
So, if you want to prevent your tinnitus from getting worse, you will need to quit smoking. Not only will this be beneficial for avoiding tinnitus, but it can also prevent you from suffering the diseases mentioned above as well.
The Bottom Line
Tinnitus itself may not be harmful, and it’s a mild annoyance for most. However, for some, it can be distracting enough to affect certain aspects of their lives, such as their job performance.
With that said, considering the tips mentioned above can be an excellent starting point to prevent tinnitus from occurring more frequently or at all. Not only that, but many of these tips can also be helpful for preventing other diseases as well, such as heart disease, stroke, and even cancer.