Ear Care Information

Ear hygiene is important, but so is safety from noise and injury. Some medications and illnesses can affect your hearing. Knowing the signs of hearing loss is important, as is having regular check-ups.

Ear Care Tips

What should you know about proper ear care?

The ears are the most visible part of the human hearing system. Taking care of your ears is important in many ways. Cleaning is one step, while preventing and treating infections is another. Ear care also include taking steps to avoid unnecessary noise and watching for possible hearing loss. Please contact us and we will advice you and help to decide the perfect treatment for you.

What is the right way to clean your ears?

Here are a few ear hygiene tips:

Clean your ears with extra care. Don’t clean your ears with anything smaller than a washcloth on your finger. Don’t use Q-tips, bobby pins or sharp pointed objects to clean your ears. These objects may injure the ear canal or eardrum.
Earwax is the ear’s way of cleaning itself. If you have a build-up of earwax that is blocking your hearing, please contact us, do not try to remove it yourself.
If you experience itching or pain in your ears, call us and we can advice you on suitable treatment and help you decide what you need.
If you have pierced ears, clean your earrings and earlobes regularly with rubbing alcohol.

What should you know about illness, medications and how they can affect your ears?

Because of the ways that our bodies are connected, certain illnesses can make ear infections or hearing loss more likely. In addition, your ears can be affected by side effects from medications.

Some illnesses and medical conditions can affect your hearing. If you experience sudden hearing loss or have constant noise in your ears or head, contact us.
Drainage from the ear isn’t normal and usually suggests infection..
Some medications can affect hearing. Take medications only as directed, and consult your provider if you develop difficulty hearing, balance problems or ringing in the ears.

What does noise have to do with ear care?

Illness and earwax are not the only things you need to think about in terms of good ear care. It’s important to guard against noise where you can.

At home or work, wear hearing protection during exposure to loud levels of noise. This includes when you’re mowing the lawn, using a leaf blower or using power tools. The law requires you to use hearing protection if you work in a noisy environment. Homecare centers, hunting shops and some garden centers carry ear-protecting headgear. If hearing protection is available at work, use it.
When using stereos and home theater systems, avoid high volume levels. If you think it’s too loud, consider adjusting the volume to an appropriate level.
When using personal sound systems, the volume should be at a comfortable level. If someone else can hear what you’re listening to with ear buds, the volume is too high. Remove the headphones from time to time to give your ears a break.
Wear earplugs at rock concerts, nightclubs and loud motor sporting events.
Keep automobile sound systems at sensible volumes. Doing this can help you avoid hearing damage and allow you to hear and yield to emergency vehicles.