Your ears are largely self-maintaining, but a few simple habits can prevent the most common causes of hearing loss, infection, and discomfort. The biggest threats to ear health are preventable: excessive noise, trapped moisture, and well-intentioned cleaning that does more harm than good.
Leave Earwax Alone
Your ear canal has a built-in conveyor belt. Skin cells along the canal wall slowly migrate outward, carrying wax, dust, and debris toward the opening. Jaw movement from chewing and talking helps push everything along. Once wax reaches the outer ear, it dries up and flakes off on its own.
Pushing a cotton swab into the canal disrupts this process. Instead of removing wax, swabs typically compact it deeper, creating a plug that muffles sound and can trap bacteria. Documented complications include impacted wax, infection, trauma to the canal lining, and even punctured eardrums. Otolaryngologists have broadly condemned the practice for decades.
If you feel a buildup, over-the-counter earwax drops containing carbamide peroxide (6.5%) can soften the wax so it drains naturally. Don’t use these drops if you have ear tubes, a perforated eardrum, active drainage, or pain. A warm shower often loosens mild buildup on its own. For anything stubborn, a clinician can flush or suction the wax safely.
Protect Your Hearing From Noise
Repeated exposure to sounds at or above 85 decibels causes permanent hearing loss. That’s roughly the level of heavy city traffic or a loud restaurant. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set the safe threshold even lower: a 70-decibel average over a 24-hour period. Beyond hearing damage, chronic noise exposure at levels as low as 55 decibels has been linked to elevated stress hormones, high blood pressure, and increased risk of heart disease.
Concerts, power tools, lawnmowers, and sporting events regularly exceed 85 decibels. In these situations, earplugs make a real difference. Here’s what to expect from different types:
- Disposable foam earplugs: 10 to 30 dB noise reduction, inexpensive and widely available
- Reusable silicone earplugs: 15 to 25 dB reduction, easy to clean and carry
- Custom-molded earplugs: 25 to 33 dB reduction, fitted by an audiologist for comfort and consistency
- Earmuffs: 20 to 30 dB reduction, good for yard work and construction
Every hearing protector carries a Noise Reduction Rating (NRR), but the real-world protection is lower than the number on the package. To estimate your actual exposure, subtract 7 from the NRR, divide by 2, then subtract that from the noise level around you. So a 25 NRR earplug in a 90-decibel environment gives you roughly 81 decibels of exposure, not 65. For most situations, an NRR between 20 and 30 is a solid choice.
Use Headphones Safely
Personal audio is one of the most common sources of sustained loud noise, especially for younger adults. The 60/60 rule, recommended by audiologists at Mayo Clinic, is a simple guideline: keep the volume at or below 60 percent of maximum, and limit listening sessions to 60 minutes before taking a break. Most smartphones now include volume-limiting features in their settings that make this easy to enforce automatically.
Over-ear headphones generally allow you to hear music clearly at lower volumes than earbuds, because they block more outside noise. Noise-canceling models are even better for this, since you don’t need to crank the volume to drown out background sound.
Keep Your Ears Dry
Moisture trapped in the ear canal creates an ideal environment for bacterial growth, which is exactly how swimmer’s ear develops. The CDC recommends a few simple steps after swimming or showering:
- Tilt and drain: Tilt your head so each ear faces downward. Pull your earlobe in different directions to help water escape.
- Towel dry: Gently dry the outer ear with a clean towel.
- Hair dryer method: If water stays trapped, hold a hair dryer on the lowest heat and fan setting several inches from your ear. The gentle warm air evaporates residual moisture without irritating the canal.
Ear-drying drops are available over the counter and can help after swimming, but check with a provider first if you have ear tubes, a perforated eardrum, or any active ear infection.
Equalize Pressure During Flights
The rapid altitude changes during takeoff and landing can create painful pressure differences between your middle ear and the cabin. The simplest fix is the Valsalva maneuver: close your mouth, pinch your nose shut, and gently push air out as if you’re straining. This forces a small burst of air through the Eustachian tubes and equalizes pressure on both sides of the eardrum. Swallowing, yawning, or chewing gum works through the same mechanism.
Avoid the Valsalva maneuver if you have retinopathy, intraocular lens implants (such as after cataract surgery), or certain heart conditions including valve disease or coronary artery disease. For anyone flying with a head cold or sinus congestion, a decongestant taken before the flight can help keep the Eustachian tubes open.
Nutrients That Support Hearing
Your inner ear depends on steady blood flow and oxygen delivery to function properly. Several nutrients play a direct role in maintaining that supply. Magnesium improves circulation to the inner ear and protects against oxidative stress from loud noise. Folate enhances blood flow to the cochlea. Iron supports oxygen-rich blood reaching the auditory system, and vitamins C and E both contribute to circulation and nerve health in the ear.
You don’t need supplements to get these nutrients if your diet includes leafy greens (folate, magnesium), citrus fruits (vitamin C), nuts and seeds (vitamin E and magnesium), and lean red meat or beans (iron). A consistently varied diet covers the bases for most people.
Get Your Hearing Tested
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends a baseline hearing screening by an audiologist once per decade during adulthood, increasing to every three years after age 50. If you have known risk factors like regular noise exposure, a history of ear infections, or a family history of hearing loss, more frequent testing is appropriate.
Hearing loss typically develops gradually, making it easy to miss. Most people compensate by turning up the TV or asking others to repeat themselves long before they recognize a real change. Regular screenings catch decline early, when intervention is most effective.
Recognize Sudden Hearing Loss
If you lose hearing in one ear rapidly, over hours or a few days, that’s a medical emergency. Sudden sensorineural hearing loss affects the inner ear or auditory nerve, and treatment delayed beyond two to four weeks is far less likely to reverse permanent damage. The sooner you’re evaluated, the better your chances of recovering at least some hearing. Don’t wait to see if it resolves on its own.