Summer is the perfect time to head off on an overseas vacation and soak up some vitamin D, but unless you plan your trip carefully, chances are you will forget some important items or overlook some health concerns. One of these tends to be the health of your ears and hearing.
Whether you are traveling alone or with your family, it’s a sensible idea to read up on some of the things to look out for with regard to your hearing health when on vacation. Conditions such as “airplane ear” and “swimmer’s ear” are common and can lead to long-term hearing issues.
If you don’t know much about protecting your ears while on vacation, you’ve come to the right place; in this article, you can find out more about three of the most common vacation situations that lead to hearing conditions. Also, learn how to protect your ears from any harm.
Protect Ears When Flying
Whether you’re headed across the country or just looking for a quicker way to get to your family, flying can have negative impacts on your ear health. If you’ve been on an airplane before, you might be familiar with “airplane ear,” this is an uncomfortable condition caused by changes in the air pressure of the ear when the airplane is taking off or landing. Mostly, this is simply uncomfortable, but it can lead to a burst eardrum.
There are several ways you can protect yourself from airplane ears; the first and simplest strategy is to chew some gum when you experience changes to your hearing. Chewing helps to regulate the air pressure of the inner ear. Also, consider wearing noise-canceling headphones.
Protect Ears When Swimming
Again, when you arrive at your overseas destination, you want to explore the area right away; this often involves swimming in the ocean or the hotel’s swimming pool. Before you dive in, you should be aware of some of the health concerns and adopt practices to protect your hearing.
In most cases, hotel swimming pools are clean because they are treated with chlorine, but when it comes to the open ocean, there are all kinds of bacteria swimming around and getting in your ear. This bacteria is the cause of a condition you need to look out for called “swimmer’s ear.”
Otherwise known as Otitis Externa, a swimmer’s ear is caused by water remaining in your ear canal for a long period. If you have this condition, you might experience redness on the outer ear or an internal itch. Avoid this condition by removing ear wax and drying ears after swimming.
Always Bring Hearing Protection
Vacations are a chance to let yourself go a little, so it’s easy to abandon your sense of responsibility when you attend loud events at your destination, but remember, high noise levels don’t discriminate between global locations; loud events can still cause long-term damage.
How Can You Protect Your Child’s Hearing?If there’s a loud event that you don’t want to miss, remember to bring hearing protection. According to research, fifty decibels is a safe noise level for most people; this is equivalent to a quiet conversation or the hum of a fridge; music festivals tend to be around 120dBs.
A music festival might not be the best thing for your hearing, but that doesn’t mean you can’t attend one and enjoy your vacation, think of the musicians that play this loud music night after night on their tours. The secret is to reduce the decibels by wearing earn plugs or headphones.
Vacations are extremely important for our health and wellbeing; without them, we start to feel overworked, and life becomes mundane. However, the last thing we want is to come home from a vacation with an illness or a long-term hearing condition, so it’s important to take precautions.
The health of your hearing is probably not on top of your list when it comes to organizing your vacation, but pay attention to it and place it on the list next to your health insurance tasks. It doesn’t take much to protect your long-term hearing, only some information and earplugs.
Chances are you will experience some changes in air pressure on your overseas flight, so remember to pack some gum in your hand luggage or bring some hearing protection with you. After you go swimming, dry your ears thoroughly and always listen to your devices at a sensible volume. To learn more about taking the best care of your ears possible, reach out to Kirsch Audiology by calling 310-586-5533.
