You’ve most likely already noticed that your hearing is failing. Hearing loss typically progresses as a result of decisions you make without recognizing they’re affecting your hearing.

Many kinds of hearing loss are preventable with several basic lifestyle changes. What follows are 6 tips that will help you protect your hearing.

1. Manage Your Blood Pressure

Persistently high blood pressure is not okay. A study found that hearing loss was 52% more likely with people who have above average blood pressure and they are more likely to have other health problems also.

Prevent injury to your hearing by taking measures to reduce your blood pressure. Don’t ignore high blood pressure or wait to see a doctor. Following your doctor’s guidance, managing stress, eating a healthy diet, and getting regular exercise are all parts of blood pressure management.

2. Quit Smoking

There are plenty of good reasons to quit smoking, here’s yet another: People who smoke are 15% more likely to suffer from hearing loss. Even more alarming: People who are frequently subjected to second-hand smoke are 28% more likely to develop hearing issues. Even if you leave the room, smoke lingers for long periods of time with unhealthy repercussions.

Consider protecting your hearing, if you’re a smoker, by quitting. If you hang out with a smoker, take measures to minimize your exposure to second-hand smoke.

3. Keep Your Diabetes in Check

One out of four adults is either pre-diabetic or diabetic. A pre-diabetic individual is very likely to develop diabetes within 5 years if they don’t make serious lifestyle changes.

Blood vessels that are injured by high blood sugar don’t effectively transport nutrients. Compared to a person who doesn’t have diabetes, a diabetic person has more than twice the chance of developing hearing loss.

If you suffer from diabetes, safeguard your hearing by taking the appropriate steps to control it. Safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes if you are at risk of type 2 diabetes.

4. Lose Some Weight

This isn’t about body image or feeling good about yourself. It’s about your health. As your Body Mass Index (BMI) rises, so does your risk of hearing loss and other health disorders. The risk of getting hearing loss rises by 17% for a mildly obese woman with a BMI of 30 to 34. For somebody with a BMI of 40 (moderate obesity), the risk increases to 25%.

Work to get rid of some of that excess weight. Something as basic as walking for 30 minutes each day can decrease your chance of hearing loss and prolong your life.

5. OTC Medicines Shouldn’t be Overused

Hearing loss can be the outcome of some over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The risk goes up when these medications are taken on a regular basis over lengthy periods of time.

Typical over-the-counter drugs that impact hearing include aspirin, NSAIDs (like naproxen, ibuprofen), and acetaminophen. Use these medicines in moderation and only with your doctor’s advice if you need to take them more regularly.

If you’re taking the suggested dose for the periodic headache, studies suggest you’ll probably be okay. Taking them every day, however, increases the chance of hearing loss by as much as 40% for men.

Your doctor’s orders should always be followed. But if you’re taking these drugs each day to manage chronic pain or thin your blood, talk to your doctor about lifestyle changes you can make to decrease your dependence on OTC drugs.

6. Eat More Broccoli

Broccoli is packed with nutrients and vitamins such as C and K and also has lots of iron. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Nutrients and oxygen are transported to your cells which helps keep them nourished and healthy and iron is a significant part of this process.

If you’re a vegetarian or don’t eat much meat, it’s critical that you consume enough plant-based iron. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.

More than 300,000 people were examined by Pennsylvania State University. Individuals who have anemia (severe iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to experience sensorineural hearing loss than people who have normal iron concentrations. Age-related irreversible hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.

Sound is received and transmitted to the brain by delicate little hairs in the inner ear which resonate with the frequency and volume of that sound. If these hair cells die as a result of poor circulation or other concerns related to iron deficiency, they never grow back.

Don’t wait to get a hearing test because you’re never too young. Counter hearing loss by applying these simple tips in your day-to-day life.