The entire Earworx team was so excited to have founder Lisa Hellwege join Aussie TV legends Kerri-Anne Kennerley, Sarah Harris, Joe Hildebrand, and Angela Bishop on Channel Ten’s Studio 10 program to discuss ear health.
The segment was called, ‘What You Need to Know: Ear Health’. Who better to discuss this issue than the founder of a company that is revolutionising ear care? Here’s what Lisa ran through during the segment.
Ear Buds or Headphones?
We’re all plugged into our devices for large chunks of the day. That means the modern person uses earbuds and headphones a lot more than we ever used to. So, which option is better for your ears?
According to Lisa, there isn’t really any difference between earbuds and headphones when it comes to looking after your ears.
What does matter is volume.
You should only ever listen to music or media content at about 65 to 75 decibels. How does this translate to the real world? You should keep your iPhone at about 60% of the maximum volume. You can actually lock your phone, so that it only ever goes to this level. This way, you can’t ramp up the volume for your favourite song and risk damaging your ears.
Every time you subject your ears to excess noise, you can damage them. Even short blasts can cause damage—that damage does add up.
Ear Plugs: Yes or No?
A lot of people swim or sleep with the help of earplugs. Can this lead to impacted ear wax? The answer is a little complicated. If you produce normal levels of wax, you should be fine. But, if you’re prone to excessive production, then you can push this wax further into the canal and create an impaction.
This doesn’t mean you can’t wear them. It just means you should keep an eye on your ears and get your ears cleaned if you notice the symptoms of a blockage.
Ears Are Self-Cleaning
Your ears clean themselves through a combination of skin layer movement and natural jaw action when we talk, yawn, etc. Nothing smaller than your elbow should be placed in your ear. Objects like cotton buds dont help to clean the ears, but they can potentially push things further down and create all sorts of problems, including eardrum perforations.
Your ears are incredibly delicate. The slightest bit of damage can throw off the complex hearing process, so you really need to look after them. Avoid cotton buds and anything else that cleans by pushing into the ear canal. If you want to dry the inside of your ears, use a hair dryer on a low heat setting instead of fiddling around in there with anything else.
Fixing Hearing Damage
The chances of fixing hearing damage are tied to which part of the ear is affected. It is easy to remedy a conductive loss caused by wax impaction that is occurring in the outer ear. But hearing loss related to the inner ear can be permanent – you are best to consult an audiologist to determine whether you have a hearing loss and what kind it is.
It is important to care for the hearing of your young children. If you take them into a noisy environment, like a rock concert or a car show, make sure you give them some noise cancelling headphones or earplugs. You should also consider wearing earplugs if you go to any loud events. Remember, every bit of loud noise counts.
Getting Rid of Tinnitus
Anyone that has dealt with persistent ringing in their ears will know just how annoying it is. It affects your day to day life and getting rid of it is all you can think about. What’s important is finding the cause. It could be a result of impacted ear wax, a consequence of generalised hearing loss, related to the medication you are taking or a result of inner ear damage. If you find the source, you may be able to treat the problem. Consulting your GP or audiologist is recommended.
All About Micro-Suction
Lisa went through the process offered by Earworx. The use of forceps and curettes, as well as gentle micro-suction, really is the safest and most-effective way of removing built-up ear wax.
Lisa then went on to explain why ear candling isn’t safe. But, if you’re looking for a home remedy, chemist drops, like Ear Clear drops, are safe as they soften the wax so it can be brought out of the ear naturally.
Lisa finished the segment with an inspection of Joe’s ears. She declared them clean and healthy, which is exactly what your ears will be if you follow this advice and visit Earworx if you feel as though something is off.