Hearing Health & Cold Weather

During the cold winter season, you must take extra care of your ears. While most people think about keeping up on their vitamins and nutrients to help fend off the cold and flu, most neglect their ears’ care. If you are guilty of ignoring your ears during the winter, you are doing yourself a disservice. Did you know cold weather can be harmful to your ears? Having your ears exposed to the cold can make you more likely to develop an ear infection. Since your ears lack fat to help keep them warm and protected from the harsh elements, they will naturally be much more sensitive to extreme weather. Also, less blood is circulated to your ears, making the ear canal more susceptible to the cold weather. Luckily, keeping your ears healthy in the cold is simple with our useful hearing health winter tips below.

Even if you love the snow and the winter season, cold weather poses a threat to your ears, which as a result, can affect your hearing. But, you can help preserve your hearing by following these helpful hearing health winter tips.

Beware of Water

If you ever get water in the ear canal, it can increase your chances of developing otitis externa, a painful ear infection. So, if you swim during the winter or use a sauna, you must ensure that your ear canal is dried correctly afterward. The same rule also applies for when you shower. Don’t neglect the act of drying your ears after water exposure.

Bundle Up

You should never leave the house without wearing something warm during the winter season, especially on your head. Wearing a hat is always an excellent way to keep your head and ears warm. But, wearing a headband, earmuffs, or ear warmers is another effective way to stay warm if you are not fond of hats. So if you are leaving your house, make sure you cover your head and ears and properly bundle up.

Wear Ear Protection

You don’t just want to protect your ears by keeping them warm. It would be best if you also take steps to protect your sensitive ears from loud noises. Noise-induced hearing loss is real, so make sure you always wear earplugs, earmuffs, or protective headphones to help protect your hearing. During the winter season, the use of snowblowers can be a common event, but they are loud-so make sure to wear protection.

Cold Weather and Batteries Don’t Mix

Batteries and the cold do not mix. Just like your car battery, the cold can put an additional strain on your batteries and can cause them to drain faster. Also, electronic failure could occur due to condensation, which can build up inside your device. So when you are away from the house this winter, make sure you also carry spare batteries with you. To help prevent damage from condensation, invest in a dehumidifier drying container to store your hearing aids in when they are not in use. Doing so can help lower your chances of damage due to condensation.