Eating right for healthy hearing

What you eat can affect how you hear. Betcha hadn’t thought much about that!

Eat carrots for better eye sight, is likely a bit of advice most of us were told as children. However, did anybody ever propose foods beneficial to your ears? Not likely. Young children can now be taught what foods to eat for healthy hearing and ears; sensible advice that we should really all abide by.

Age, infections and noise are among the numerous causes of hearing impairment. Nutrients in the following foods may help prevent some typical causes of hearing loss.

Exposure to high decibel noise can stimulate the generation of damaging free radicals bringing about the demise of delicate inner ear hair cells, according to The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). Reduce damage from free radicals with folic acid and antioxidants. Particular foods are especially loaded with folic acid and antioxidants – among them spinach, eggs, asparagus and nuts.

Even some foods we think of as sweets, such as dark chocolate, are beneficial to hearing health. Dark chocolate contains zinc, and zinc deficiencies have been connected to age-related hearing loss. If you do not enjoy dark chocolate, grab some oysters; any foods which contain zinc will do!

Any professionals subjected to loud noises, for example music artists or machinery workers, are at a very high risk for ear damage. Potatoes, artichokes and bananas are rich in magnesium and can help protect the hearing of people with a pastime or a job subjecting them to intense noises. Foods rich in the mineral magnesium help protect against noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) although it has not been established why or how it works.

Believe it or not, fish such as salmon or trout that contains vitamin D and omega 3 fats, has been demonstrated in research studies to reduce age-related hearing problems. Alternative good options for fish containing vitamin D and omega 3 fats include the can of tuna probably sitting in your pantry and the anchovies topping your pizza. Any of these, eaten twice each week, have a good chance of helping you hear better in your later years.

Today, together with the urging to eat carrots for good eye sight, we can help our kids and grandkids defend their ears from the dangers of hearing loss with a few basic foods we most likely have in our home’s kitchen.

Hearing Healthcare of Virginia

Hearing Healthcare of Virginia is offering complimentary hearing screenings at its six locations in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia – Charlottesville, Covington, Culpeper, Fishersville, Harrisonburg, and Lexington.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (866) 341-4327.

More online at www.HearVirginia.com.