Protect Your Hearing: Preventing Damage to Ear Cells

A person's auditory nerve cells receive signals from the vibrating hair cells in the ear canal. These signals are translated into the sounds one hears. If the cells die, a person's ability to hear is severely impaired. Follow the steps below to preserve your hearing.

Instructions

• 1

  Avoid loud noises. Noise-muffling headphones can reduce the noise level when you're working with loud equipment, such as lawn mowers, power tools or firearms.

• 2

  Turn down the volume. Whether one uses headphones or speakers, loud music kills the ear hair cells. Headphone use should be kept to a minimum since it is easy to accidentally set the volume level above the safe level.

• 3

  Question pharmacists and doctors about prescriptions. Some medications, known as obotoxic drugs, can be "toxic" to your hearing. Ask the doctor if there are alternative medications that can be prescribed instead.

• 4

  Carry earplugs. Foam earplugs are easy to insert and are almost invisible when positioned correctly. Any time exposure to loud noises seems imminent, insert the earplugs.

• 5

  Accept that ear cell death is a result of aging. While it is not possible to stop the aging process, following the above precautions will delay hearing loss.