Health
6 simple ways to protect your hearing now before it's too late, according to experts
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Hearing loss is one of the most common conditions affecting older adults, with about one in three Americans between 65 and 74 affected, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
While some of this loss is due to the hair cells in the inner ears breaking down with age and not picking up vibrations as well, per WebMD, there are some risk factors that can be controlled with behavior modifications.
Making small changes now can help protect your ears and hearing later in life, experts advise.
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Below are some practical tips you can start implementing today.
1. Limit exposure to loud noises
Whether it’s a crowded concert, heavy traffic or the constant hum of power tools, repeated exposure to high noise levels is known to cause permanent damage to the delicate structures in the inner ear.
One of the most effective ways to protect your hearing as you age is to limit your exposure to these loud environments, the NIH states.
Making small changes now can help protect your ears and hearing later in life, experts advise. (iStock)
Even small adjustments, such as lowering the volume on your headphones or taking quiet breaks during a noisy event, can make a big difference over time.
2. Shield your ears in noisy environments
Damage to the inner ear can happen long before it shows up on a hearing test, according to the NIH, which means prevention is key.
When loud situations are unavoidable, and you expect to be exposed for more than a few minutes, experts recommend wearing ear protection, such as foam earplugs or noise-canceling earmuffs.
One of the most effective ways to protect your hearing as you age is to limit your exposure to loud environments.
Foam earplugs are an affordable, easy-to-carry option; they reduce noise by 15 to 30 decibels, WebMD states.
Earmuffs, which cover the entire ear, offer similar protection and can be worn with earplugs for added defense.
Some earplugs are designed to reduce sound evenly across all frequencies, making them ideal for musicians or anyone who wants clear but quieter audio.
3. Get your hearing checked regularly
Just like dental cleanings or eye exams, regular hearing checkups are an important part of maintaining overall health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that adults aged 50 through 64 have their hearing screened by an audiologist every five years.
Foam earplugs are an affordable, easy-to-carry option that reduce noise by 15 to 30 decibels. (iStock)
Hearing exams are particularly important for those who have a family history of hearing loss, notice difficulty hearing conversations, have a high degree of noise exposure, often hear ringing in the ears or have no previous testing history.
Your healthcare provider will assess how well your hearing is functioning and check for any early signs of hearing loss.
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“Screening doesn’t always mean undergoing a full hearing test,” Lindsay Creed, a Maryland audiologist and associate director of audiology practices at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), told Fox News Digital.
“It can start with a few simple questions from your doctor during a routine physical, or even a short questionnaire as a first step.”
The World Health Organization recommends that adults aged 50 through 64 have their hearing screened by an audiologist every five years. (iStock)
4. Avoid smoking
Smoking doesn’t just affect your lungs and heart — it can also harm your hearing.
According to a study conducted by the NIH, current smokers are 61% more likely to experience prevalent hearing loss compared to non-smokers.
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The good news? Quitting makes a difference.
Former smokers who quit for longer than five years reduced their risk to nearly as low as individuals who have never smoked, the same study found.
5. Be aware of age-related ear conditions
Although hearing loss is common with age, it’s not the only auditory issue.
According to the AARP (American Association of Retired Persons), conditions like tinnitus, which often peaks between ages 60 and 69, can also develop. Tinnitus causes persistent sounds such as ringing, hissing, buzzing or whooshing in the ears.
Current smokers are 61% more likely to experience prevalent hearing loss compared to non-smokers. (iStock)
Most cases are linked to sensorineural hearing loss, the type that typically occurs with age, the American Tinnitus Association notes.
While there’s no cure, various treatments can help reduce the impact of symptoms.
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Another condition that becomes more common with age is benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), which causes brief but intense episodes of dizziness, according to Mayo Clinic.
This occurs when tiny calcium crystals in the inner ear shift out of place.
Audiologist Lindsay Creed noted that head trauma is usually the cause in younger people, but in those over 50, natural age-related changes in the inner ear are more likely the culprit.
The American Tinnitus Association notes that most cases of tinnitus are linked to sensorineural hearing loss, the type that typically occurs with age. (iStock)
Once someone experiences BPPV, future episodes become more likely.
The condition can often be treated with a simple in-office maneuver performed by a medical professional to reposition the crystals, although Creed advises against attempting it at home without guidance.
6. Check medications for adverse effects
Many drugs are known to cause impaired hearing, including some cancer medications and antibiotics, according to WebMD.
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If you take a prescription medication, experts recommend checking with your physician to ensure that it isn’t known to impact ear health.
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An accidental lab discovery has opened the door to entirely new ways of preventing the flu.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells, SWNS reported.
By targeting the specific molecules the viruses rely on, scientists found that they could block them from entering new cells and halt their replication altogether.
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Researchers say these “fundamental insights” into seasonal influenza highlight a clear path toward developing better preventive medications.
“The hope is that fundamental, curiosity-based research like this helps to pave the way for novel strategies to treat and prevent influenza infections,” principal investigator Dr. Emily Bruce, from the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine, said in the SWNS report.
While investigating how influenza replicates, researchers discovered that different flu strains use completely different strategies to infiltrate human cells. (iStock)
While several flu strains cause illness, H1N1 and H3N2 influenza A viruses are the most common. However, current flu tests cannot differentiate between them, and clinical treatments are identical for both.
Although vaccines and antivirals are available, Bruce noted a “dire” need for better medications to stop the virus from spreading cell to xxcell.
“You don’t get sick when a virus is in one cell,” he noted. “You get sick because a virus replicates itself and goes into many more cells.”
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The study, which was published in The Journal of Virology, originally aimed to map how viral RNA segments are transported within cells to create new viral particles.
The team used H1N1 and H3N2 viruses isolated from the nasal passages of positive patients in 2022.
Clinical treatments remain identical for both primary strains of the flu virus. (iStock)
During the investigation, the team unexpectedly stumbled upon a cellular pathway that blocked the virus from entering lung cells, SWNS reported.
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The data revealed that when a specific human protein called Rab11B was depleted, H3N2 viruses failed to enter human lung cells. H1N1 viruses were completely unaffected.
Using reverse genetics, the team mapped this defect and uncovered a brand-new, H3N2-specific role for Rab11B during viral entry.
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This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way.
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“Viruses are like pirates from different countries hijacking someone’s ship,” Bruce said. “Different viruses, like different types of pirates, use different methods to get onboard.”
This discovery challenged the scientific assumption that all flu viruses enter cells the same way. (iStock)
“We had previously thought that all flu viruses used the same way to get into a cell, but we discovered that this is not true,” she went on. “H1N1 and H3N2 need different proteins to get in, and if you get rid of the right protein, a specific virus can’t get in.”
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While these findings identify a critical cellular pathway for viral entry, the study was conducted using isolated cells, the researchers acknowledged.
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Further research is needed to determine whether blocking the protein is safe and effective within a live, complex human respiratory system.
Bruce and the team hope to conduct further research to determine whether this Rab11B-dependency is a fundamental property of H3N2, or if it’s a trait unique to currently circulating flu strains.
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Eating processed meat like ham, sausage and bacon may be linked to a higher risk of certain types of cancer, according to new research.
While health organizations have already confirmed that processed meat can contribute to colon cancer, this study looked closer at cancers in the upper digestive tract, where the link has historically been less clear.
To understand these connections, researchers from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC), one of the world’s largest long-term nutrition and cancer cohorts, tracked the health and diets of 450,112 people across Europe for an average of 14 years.
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The study group included 131,426 men and 318,686 women, according to the study’s press release.
During the follow-up period, 876 people developed stomach cancer and 215 people developed esophageal adenocarcinoma, which is cancer of the tube connecting the mouth to the stomach.
For female participants, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk of developing the disease. (iStock)
Researchers tracked where the stomach cancers grew, separating them into the upper part of the stomach near the throat and the lower part of the stomach.
The researchers also sorted the tumors into two categories based on how the cancer cells appeared under a microscope: intestinal, which forms more organized structures, and diffuse, in which the cells are more scattered throughout the tissue.
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After adjusting for other lifestyle factors, the researchers found that for every extra 30 grams of processed meat a person ate per day, their overall risk of stomach cancer went up by 9%. Eating that same extra 30 grams a day was also linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma.
A standard single slice of regular deli-sliced ham or lunch meat averages around 28 grams, according to USDA data and nutritional tracking databases.
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken and turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach. (iStock)
An extra 20 grams of white meat, such as chicken or turkey, was linked to a 12% higher risk of cancer in the main body of the stomach, the researchers noted.
The study also revealed differences between men and women. For male participants, only processed meat showed a clear, statistically significant link to a higher risk of stomach cancer. For female participants, however, eating both processed meat and white meat was linked to an increased risk.
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These findings align with global health benchmarks, particularly those established by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The agency has long classified processed meat as a known human carcinogen, primarily due to its strong, well-documented links to colorectal cancer.
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However, health organizations have also consistently pointed to a potential, yet less definitive, relationship between these meats and cancers of the stomach.
Eating 30 grams of processed meat a day, or the equivalent to one slice of ham, was linked to a 13% higher risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma. (iStock)
Further scientific investigation is needed to confirm the findings and to account for other underlying risk factors, such as certain stomach infections, which could interact with dietary habits.
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A key limitation of the study is its reliance on self-reported diets, which can sometimes lead to inaccuracies in how participants recall their meat consumption over time, the researchers noted.
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The findings were published in the International Journal of Cancer.
Fox News Digital reached out to the researchers requesting comment.
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