Popularize some knowledge about ear care and ear protection｜2023 National Ear Care Day

Tomorrow, March 3, 2023, is the 24th "National Ear Care Day" in my country and the 11th "World Hearing Day" internationally.

This year, the theme of National Ear Care Day is: Scientific ear care and ear protection to achieve active health ; the theme of World Hearing Day is: Everyone has access to ear and hearing care! Let's make it happen .

Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that unsafe ear habits put more than 1 billion young people at risk of permanent hearing loss , which could have been avoided; by 2050, nearly 2.5 billion people are expected to have some degree of hearing loss, and at least 700 million people will require hearing rehabilitation due to disabling hearing loss .

The prevalence of disabling hearing loss, defined as a hearing loss of more than 35 decibels in the better ear, increases with age, affecting more than 25% of people over the age of 60.

It has been proven that hearing loss affects all aspects of a person’s life, such as communication and language, cognition, as well as social isolation, education and employment, etc. Therefore, we need to protect our ears and hearing at different stages of life .

Tips on ear care

Don't wear headphones for long periods of time

Many people like to listen to music with headphones while walking or working, which is bad for the ears over time. In particular, high-volume audio can cause fatigue and damage to the auditory organs, leading to hearing loss or even deafness.

Prevent water from entering the ear canal

It is easy to ignore the situation of water entering the ear. One is that when we take a bath, water rushes into the ear canal, causing inflammation. The other is that when we swim, water enters the ear, causing otitis media. Therefore, we should clean the ear canal in time after each bath and swimming to prevent inflammation caused by negligence.

Have a regular schedule

Many people usually do not pay attention to the formation of good living habits, such as going to bed later and later, staying up late more and more frequently, lack of sleep, or emotional tension, which may cause tinnitus. We should adjust our work and rest time as soon as possible and try to avoid staying up late, because sleep deprivation will affect the microcirculation of the inner ear, which will lead to tinnitus and even hearing loss.

Noise prevention in daily life

If we are exposed to various noises such as the roar of machines, the hustle and bustle of workshops, and the noise of human voices for a long time, the capillaries in the inner ear will often be in spasm, blood supply will be reduced, and hearing will be sharply reduced. Therefore, avoiding or reducing noise interference as much as possible is the first step to protect hearing.

Don't blow your nose too hard

Sucking or blowing your nose hard can easily cause secretory otitis media. Blowing your nose hard can cause the snot to flow from the airway to other places, directly changing the pressure in the ear, and even squeezing into the Eustachian tube, causing otitis media.

In addition, sign language, as a gesture language , is an "important auxiliary tool for spoken language" and is the main means of communication for people with hearing impairments .

Sign language is a visual language. It has the same expressive power as natural languages ​​such as speech and written language. In terms of human-computer interaction, sign language can be used as a means with strong visual effects. It is vivid, figurative, and intuitive, such as expressing "Love Your Ears Day" through sign language .

"Love": Extend the thumb of your left hand, and gently touch the back of your left thumb with your right hand, with a loving expression on your face;

"Ear": Extend the index finger of one hand and point to the ear;

"Sun": Pinch the thumb and index finger of your right hand into a circle, with the base of the thumb facing inward, and move in an arc from right to left, across the top of your head.

As Ear Care Day is approaching, let us learn together.

Of course, many conditions that lead to hearing loss can be avoided through public health strategies and clinical interventions throughout life. The WHO recommends the following effective strategies to reduce hearing loss at different stages of life :

Immunization;

good maternal and child health practices;

Genetic counseling;

Identify and manage common ear conditions;

occupational hearing conservation programs for noise and chemical exposure;

safe listening strategies to reduce exposure to loud noise in recreational settings;

Rational use of medications to prevent ototoxic hearing loss.

The world of sound is very beautiful, and I hope that each of us can live in the world of sound. Let us work together to protect our ears scientifically and achieve active health .