My ears whisper: These habits are really "down to earth"

In the wonderful structure of our body, ears are like a pair of hardworking little guards, silently capturing all kinds of sounds in the world for us, allowing us to listen to the beauty of music, the laughter of family members, and the chirping of birds and insects in nature. However, some careless daily habits may unknowingly hurt these precious little guards and make them suffer. Today is International Ear Care Day. Let's listen to the voice of the ears and see which habits are really "down to the ears".

Frequent use of hard objects to pick ears

Many people feel uncomfortable with earwax in their ears, so they like to use cotton swabs, ear picks, or even hard objects such as hairpins to clean their ears. Don't underestimate this action. The skin of the external auditory canal is very delicate. These hard objects may scratch it if you are not careful, destroying the natural protective barrier of the external auditory canal, allowing bacteria and viruses to take advantage of the opportunity to enter and cause external otitis. Moreover, improper force may damage the eardrum and cause hearing loss. In fact, earwax is the "self-cleaning assistant" of the ear. It can be automatically discharged from the body, and we really don't need to disturb it frequently. If you really feel that too much earwax affects your hearing, it is best to seek help from a professional doctor.

Wearing headphones for long periods of time at high volume

In this era of digital music, headphones have almost become people's "close companions". But wearing headphones for a long time, especially in a noisy environment with the volume turned up very high, is a "disaster" for the ears. When we are exposed to high-decibel sounds for a long time, the hair cells in the inner ear will be damaged, just like overworked little soldiers, gradually losing the ability to work normally, leading to hearing loss. Studies have shown that when the volume of headphones exceeds 85 decibels and is listened to for more than 30 minutes, it may cause irreversible damage to hearing. Therefore, for the health of the ears, it is best not to wear headphones for more than 1 hour each time, and try to control the volume within 60%.

Being in a noisy environment for a long time

In addition to headphones, there are many other sources of noise in life, such as construction noise at construction sites, high-decibel music in KTVs, and the roar of airplanes taking off. If you are in such a noisy environment for a long time, your ears will be like being "bombed by noise" and your hearing will gradually be affected. Not only that, noise may also cause a series of problems such as tinnitus, headaches, and insomnia, which seriously affect our quality of life. If you cannot avoid being in a noisy environment, remember to wear protective equipment such as earplugs and earmuffs.

Blowing your nose hard when you have a cold

Colds are common diseases in life. When people have a stuffy nose due to a cold, they tend to blow their noses hard to make their noses ventilate quickly. However, this practice may cause harm to the ears. Because there is a passage called the Eustachian tube between the ears and noses, when you blow your nose hard, the pressure in the nasal cavity will suddenly increase, and bacteria and viruses may enter the middle ear through the Eustachian tube, causing otitis media. The correct way to blow your nose is to press one side of the nose, gently blow out the secretions in the other side of the nasal cavity, and then switch to the other side. Never use force on both sides at the same time.

Abuse of ototoxic drugs

Although some drugs can treat diseases, they may have toxic effects on the ears, such as gentamicin and streptomycin. If these drugs are used without strictly following the doctor's instructions, and the dosage is increased or the medication time is extended at will, it may damage the auditory nerve of the inner ear, leading to hearing loss or even deafness. Therefore, before using any drug, be sure to read the instructions carefully or consult a doctor, and never abuse it on your own.

Ears are an important organ for us to perceive the world. Although they cannot speak, they can send us "distress signals" in various ways, such as tinnitus, ear pain, hearing loss, etc. When these signals appear, we must pay attention and seek medical treatment in time. In daily life, we must also develop good ear habits so that these little guards can serve us healthily and accompany us to listen to every beautiful melody in life. Let us start from this International Ear Care Day to take good care of our ears and stop letting them "fall down"!