How To Improve Your "Auditory Diet" For The Sake Of Your Ear Health

As rates of noise-induced hearing loss continue to climb (particularly among young people), here are a few small ways to clean up your "auditory diet" and protect your ears from unnecessary damage each day:

Since humans don't come with a built-in noise meter, Djalilian recommends using your phone or watch to alert you when you're exposed to a sound that's higher than 85 decibels. Apple users can do this using the Noise app. Or you can download the free NIOSH Sound Level Meter App1.

Keeping a pair of earplugs in your bag will ensure you're always protected from unexpected loud noises. These are especially important to pack if you know you're going to end up at a concert or show. "I was at a concert recently, and I don't think anybody was wearing earplugs aside from me and my family. That's something that needs to change," says Djalilian. These days, you can also find earplugs designed to reduce concert noise without messing with sound quality, like these ones from Loop.

If a loud noise catches you off guard and you don't have your earbuds, Djalilian recommends simply plugging your ears with your fingers. It may look silly, but doing it the next time a garbage truck comes whooshing by or an aggressive driver lays down on the horn can save you a lot of damage. "This is the easiest way to protect yourself from daily noise exposures. It helps ensure you don't get exposed to any extra noise that you don't need to be listening to," he says.

Heather Malyuk, AuD, an audiologist and expert in the field of hearing wellness, explains that since each ear is different, seeing an audiologist can help you determine how to best protect your unique pair. She adds that your ears also provide a window into overall health, so if your practitioner finds something is wrong with them, it could help tip you off to a larger issue like a virus or tumor.

Djalilian notes that podcasts or audiobooks tend to be the safest things to listen to in headphones from an ear health perspective since they tend to have built-in breaks. But if you're listening to music for long periods of time, he actually recommends turning the volume down to 50% or less.

If you live in a city or place with lots of manufactured noise, Cowie recommends practicing separating the biophonies (nature sounds) from the androphonies (human sounds) to flex your listening skills and deepen your sense of place.

And he notes that parents should talk to their kids about doing the same. "Teaching young people about this is critical because it develops this culture of being protective of your hearing," he says. After all, hearing loss isn't just something that we have to worry about when we're older. It can occur anytime, and protecting your ears when you're young can go a long way in preventing it.

Investing in a pair of earplugs, monitoring your headphone use, taking listening breaks, and getting regular checkups with an audiologist are just a few ways to protect your ears on the daily. Here are some more audiologist-approved tips for tending to this often-neglected aspect of health.