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Most hearing loss is either due to auditory nerve dysfunction or a medical condition blocking the travel of sound or a mix of both. Although there are ways to strengthen your hearing, there isn’t a home remedy for hearing loss. If you suffer from significant hearing loss, you should see a professional for a hearing test and to discuss treatment options. Treating hearing loss early can help improve your hearing and prevent long term damage to your ears. Although you can’t directly improve your hearing, there are some activities and lifestyle changes you can make to keep your hearing health optimal.

Exercise

Regular exercise yields many benefits including stronger circulation, which helps with brain function. Regular exercise like walking, jogging, and yoga can get your blood pumping and circulation at a healthy level, which can strengthen general ear function.

Balanced Diet

Introduce more fish, nuts, seeds, wholegrains, fruits and vegetables into your diet to promote normal ear function and general body health. Some vitamins can also be good for normal ear function such as Vitamin B3, which promotes body circulation, and Vitamin B6, which helps healthy nerve function. In addition to adding healthy foods and vitamins to your diet, it’s also important to rid your diet of whatever is not healthy. Ear function is dependent on blood flow so avoid eating food high in saturated fat that can lead to high cholesterol levels and clogged arteries. Also rid your diet of foods high in salt or any heavy metals such as mercury. Salty foods can cause excessive liquid retention in the body (including ears) and heavy metals like mercury can be toxic to nerves important to ear function. Note for smokers: In addition to eating a balanced diet and regular exercise, you may be able to improve your hearing if you quit smoking. Smokers are 70 percent more likely to develop some form of hearing loss in their lifetime than non-smokers. Smoking can cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which contribute to hearing loss as you age.

Practice Listening for Sounds

Another way to strengthen your hearing is by practicing recognizing sounds and noise filtering. When you’re in a busy room with many different sounds, try listening to as many as possible and discerning between each one. The more you practice, the more you’ll learn to distinguish the different sounds. You can also practice filtering through noise and focusing on what you want to hear. You can do this by trying to focus on having a conversation amongst a busy room of sounds. Although these tips can help strengthen various components of hearing, you can’t reverse hearing loss. If you suffer from significant hearing loss, you need to see a professional to get your hearing tested and to discuss treatment options.