Check out these lesser known facts about hearing

Most of us tend to take our hearing for granted. Hence, we do very less to protect it. We live in an environment where sound pollution is at its peak. From constant honking at traffic signals to sounds of machines around us, our ears are prone to a lot of danger. Today, more youngsters fall prey to hearing loss. Did you know that people get depressed or anxious when they have hearing problems? It is always better to be safe than sorry.

Dr Saju KG is a prominent ENT specialist from Kerala who works at the Ernakulam General Hospital. According to him, lifestyle patterns have a crucial role to play in hearing loss.

Over the past few months, we have been holding awareness campaigns about hearing loss. Honking from cars and buses are one of the biggest threats to hearing loss. We did a ‘Horn Not OK Please’ campaign in Kochi. But city bus drivers just did not co-operate. Youngsters must reduce usage of earphones. This leads to high frequency hearing loss since they are only listening to sounds of one frequency at a time. Earlier, people used to have hearing loss when they become old. Now, even teenagers are prone to hearing loss. Also, if a person is working amidst noise of generators or motors, they must use earplugs. Loud explosions and firecrackers can also lead to hearing loss. – Dr Saju K G

Here are a few lesser known facts about our ears and hearing.

• 1. Humans have the ability to hear due to small hairs inside our ears. Once these hairs are gone, we will just not be able to hear!
• 2. Most of us constantly clean the wax from our ears. Some of them even do this on a regular basis. In spite of experts telling that it can hamper our ear drums, many people ignore that. In fact, you need not clean your ears from wax unless you have an abnormal condition. Your ears push out excess wax when it is needed.
• 3. Hearing and heart health are interconnected. Yes, you read that right. Ears are technically doors to your heart. Smoking and heavy noises can affect your heart and ears at the same time.
• 4. Did you know that you can have a permanent hearing loss if you are exposed to loud noises? This can be an explosion or even a shotgun blast. Ears are very sensitive.
• 5. When we sleep, our brain is inactive. But our ears are not. The reason why we do not hear anything while sleeping is because our brain just does not respond to what the ear hears!
• 6. Moderate drinking of alcohol can actually help your ears. A study proves that both moderate and heavy drinkers have 40% reduced risk of hearing loss when compared to those who do not have alcohol!

It is always good to get your ears checked with an expert, at least once in every six months. It only ensures that you have the best of ear health for years to come!

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