Your ears, much like the rest of your body, benefit most from a comprehensive approach to maintaining your health. Aside from working with your audiologist to prevent further hearing loss, getting hearing tests and using the right hearing protection, you may also see some benefits from some supplements that might affect your hearing health. Here, we’re going to take a look at some of the vitamins and minerals that could be good for your ears.
Vitamin D
When it comes to bone health, few vitamins are quite as important as Vitamin D. There are three tiny bones inside the ear that play a key role in transmitting sound effectively. To prevent these from softening and weakening with age, thus raising your chance of experiencing hearing loss, you should make sure that you get more vitamin D.
This is especially true as you age, as the body finds it harder to hold onto vitamin D when you get older. Aside from supplements, you can find vitamin D in oily fish like sardines and salmon, as well as mushrooms.
Folate
Free radicals are molecules that form under a range of conditions, such as when we are stressed or, in the case of theirs, when we are exposed to loud noises. Free radicals can lead to the early aging of cells by reducing blood flow, which can damage or even kill the tiny hair cells in our inner ears that are important for picking up sound signals and sending them to the brain. Folates are antioxidants, meaning that they’re great for fighting free radicals, and can be found in peas, asparagus, and broccoli, as well as in supplement form.
Magnesium
Minerals can be just as vital for your hearing health, too. Magnesium is thought by researchers to be especially important for your hearing health because, much like folates, it can help to protect against the damage that free radicals can cause. You can find magnesium in foods like quinoa, tofu, and almonds, as well as in all manner of supplements. Magnesium is great for general nerve function and energy production, in general, and can also help to reduce high blood pressure, which is known to be a risk factor in hearing loss.
Potassium
Another vital mineral, potassium is used for all manner of processes in the body, playing a regulating role when it comes to fluid in our tissue and blood. There is fluid in our inner ear, and potassium could play a key role in helping this fluid convert sound into nerve impulses that get transmitted to the brain.
We know that potassium levels in the ear begin to decrease as we get older, which may play a role in the increased risk of hearing loss that we experience over time. Spinach, avocado, and bananas are all great sources of potassium.
Zinc
While the body might not need as much zinc as some of the other nutrients mentioned here, this mineral does help to fight off bacteria and viruses. It plays a key role in making and activating T-cells, which are defender cells that recognize and fight the many invaders that can cause us to get sick.
It’s not specifically known whether zinc plays a role in fighting ear infections, but it can still be good for reducing your chances of getting ill, which can in turn reduce your risk factors of losing your hearing. Zinc can be found in rice, cashews, seeds, and legumes.
Omega-3s
Often considered something of a health “superfood” or at least a component in many foods called superfoods, omega-3 fatty acids have a wide range of health benefits to provide. They can tackle risk factor health issues such as heart disease and inflammation, reducing your chances of hearing loss and ensuring proper blood supply to the delicate hair cells vital to your hearing. The body does not produce omega-3 fatty acids on its own, so it’s vital to get it from supplements or from foods that are high in them, such as oily fish, walnuts, and soybeans.
Work With an Audiologist
Improving your diet to include more of the vitamins and minerals above and using the right supplements (under the advisement of your doctor, depending on any health issues affecting you), can be a great idea. However, to ensure the clearest picture of your hearing health, routine appointments with your audiologist are just as important. Be sure to get in touch with the team at Kirsch Audiology at 310-586-5533 if you have any questions.
This article is for informational purposes only. Refer to your physician when discussing supplements and your overall health.
