Hearing loss can have a major impact on your quality of life. Most people are aware of the most common ways that they can damage their hearing. There are some uncommon ones that many people may not realize, however. Here are four ways you could be hurting your hearing.
- Ear Candling
This is a hippie-dippy health fad that’s catching on because of TikTok. The delicate snowflakes of Gen Z are grossed out by their own earwax. (Wait until they hear about childbirth!) Ear candling involves sticking a tube in your ear, sticking a candle in the tube, and lighting it. This supposedly sucks the earwax out of your ear. Except it doesn’t. Not even a little bit. It can damage your hearing, though. Tell your friends!
- Smoking
Smoking is another way that people can damage their hearing without realizing it. Controlled studies have shown that smokers are 70% more likely to develop hearing loss than non-smokers. Among heavy smokers, the risk is even greater.
- Hypertension
High blood pressure can cause damage to blood vessels anywhere in the body. That includes the ones that carry blood to the ears. Hypertension that lasts a long time can cause permanent hearing loss. Lifestyle choices that reduce the risk of high blood pressure are the best way to avoid this.
- Taking a COVID Vaccine
Scientists in Israel found that people who received the Pfizer COVID vaccine (BioNTech) were 1.4 times more likely to develop sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) than an unvaccinated person. Many people in Israel went instantly deaf within a few hours of receiving the vaccines. Is there anything that the COVID vaccines cannot do? Well, besides prevent you from catching COVID. They can’t do that!
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