Who would've guessed that women who take paracetamol and ibuprofen pills at least twice a week are at risk for losing their hearing?
The doctors recommend that patients cut back on their painkiller use
Senior author Dr Gary Curhan, from Brigham and Women's Hospital in the US, shares: "Hearing loss is extremely common and can have a profound impact on quality of life."
"Finding modifiable risk factors could help us identify ways to lower risk before hearing loss begins and slow progression in those with hearing loss."
The study also found that 1 in 12 women routinely take at least 2 paracetamol pills in order to ward off aches and pains. However, this amount was apparently enough to increase the risk of hearing loss by 9%.
Paracetamol can have some negative effects on the ear
What a lot of people don't know about paracetamol is that evidence has shown that it can reduce blood supply to the inner ear. It is also believed that paracetamol can deplete antioxidant levels in the ear, which makes it more vulnerable to noise-based damage.
Making sure our ears are healthy
Most people don't really think about their ears when it comes to keeping themselves healthy. But it's really important that we also take care of our ears since after all, they're the most important when it comes to our hearing!
Here are some tips to make sure that our ears are always healthy:
- Stop using earbuds. Did you know that using earbuds to clean your ears are actually not recommended? Using earbuds can actually push earwax further inside your ear, and sometimes even irritate the skin. The ear is a self-cleaning organ, and the best way to clean it would be to just wash the outside and dry it with a clean towel.
- Try and avoid loud noises. Loud noises are bad for your ears, even if you can tolerate the noise. That's why if you're exposed to loud noises on a daily basis, it's best to use earplugs to lessen the sound coming into your ears.
- Use eardrops to dissolve impacted earwax. If you have excessive earwax, or if the earwax in your ears are impacted, you can use eardrops to help dissolve it. Make sure to follow the recommended instructions that come with the eardrops.
- Hearing loss is caused by a lot of factors. A lot of factors can cause hearing loss, not just loud noises. That's why it's important to know what things can damage your ears, and avoid those.
- If you sense one-sided hearing loss, go to your doctor. If you think that one of your ears is starting to lose hearing, you need to go to your doctor so that they can help you diagnose what's going on. Hearing loss shouldn't be ignored as you might already be going deaf and not even know it.
Sources: theatlantic.com, dailymail.co.uk
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