Tips to Keep Your Ears Healthy
Your sense of hearing is essential for keeping you connected to the world around you, which is why it’s important to take measures to keep your ears healthy. We provide tips on how to do this below.
Clean Your Ears Safely

While some find it unsightly, earwax has the essential job of trapping dirt and debris, preventing it from entering your ears. While there’s nothing wrong with cleaning the wax out of your ear canals, how you do it matters.
Unfortunately, far too many people will stick cotton swabs or hair pins into their ears in an attempt to scoop the wax out. However, this often results in pushing wax further in. In addition, doing so puts you at risk of rupturing your eardrum.
Instead, you should use eardrop from Walgreens in Fond du Lac to soften the wax, then let the shower water irrigate your ears. If you have impacted earwax, see a professional at DeFatta Health to have it expertly removed.
Wear Hearing Protection
The World Health Organization reports that over 1 billion young adults are at risk of permanent, avoidable hearing loss due to unsafe listening practices.
When you’re listening to music, podcasts or audiobooks through earbuds or headphones, follow the 60/60 rule: listen at no more than 60% of your device’s maximum volume for no more than 60 minutes at a time.
Additionally, when attending sporting events or concerts, you should always wear hearing protection. You can invest in disposable foam earplugs, plastic earmuffs or custom-molded protection from DeFatta Health.
Get Regular Hearing Screenings
Left untreated, hearing loss is associated with increased risk of anxiety, depression, falls and even dementia.
A hearing screening is a quick and easy way to detect whether hearing loss is present. It usually consists of answering a list of questions like the following:
- Do you have trouble hearing over the phone?
- Do you hear better in one ear than the other?
- Do you have trouble following conversations in background noise?
- Do you strain to understand what people are saying?
- Do you frequently ask people to repeat what they said?
- Do people complain you turn up the TV too loud?
- Do people seem to mumble all the time?
- Do you experience dizziness or tinnitus (ringing in the ears)?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, it means you should schedule a comprehensive hearing test. To learn more or to schedule an appointment, call DeFatta Health today.