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

We pay a lot of attention to the food and drink we put into our bodies, yet we often ignore the sounds that we consume daily.

While some sound exposure is out of our hands (i.e., construction noise and traffic), a lot of it is very much within our control (the 1,320 minutes I've spent listening to Taylor Swift this year? Definitely a choice).

And just like our food choices impact our overall health, our sound choices can impact our hearing and ear health in the long run.

Hamid R. Djalilian, M.D., an otolaryngologist specializing in hearing disorders, explains that 85 decibels (dB) is an important threshold to know for auditory health. You can safely be in 85 dB of noise for about eight hours. However, any noise louder than that can damage the inner ear, and over time, this damage can accumulate and cause hearing loss.

For context, a quiet room sounds in at around 40 decibels, and freeway traffic is 70 dB, while a rock concert can be as loud as 100-120 dB and jackhammers around 130 dB.

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.

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. "

"Hearing loss is part of overall health. Just like you check your blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose numbers, you should also be paying attention to your hearing health," notes Barbara Kelley, the executive director of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA). The HLAA recommends that all adults over 50 schedule annual checkups with an audiologist—whether or not they're experiencing any hearing loss.

Headphones themselves are not necessarily bad for your ears (and they can actually serve as hearing aids in some cases); it's all about how you use them. Malyuk recommends following the 80-90 rule: If you're listening to headphones for more than 90 minutes a day, keep the volume at 80% or less.

Tuning in to nature sounds can be a wonderful way to take your hearing health—and mindfulness routine—to a new level.

Research shows that listening to the sounds of the outdoors can reduce stress and improve mood. The next time you hear the morning chorus of the birds or the whirring of the wind at night, take a moment to close your eyes and give the restorative sound your full attention.

"The beautiful part about experiencing a soundscape is that you're connecting to your local ecosystem in another way," adds William Cowie, a musician who recently hiked a portion of the Pacific Crest Trail as part of adidas TERREX's United By Summits Campaign, paying special attention to its symphony of sounds.

It's important to avoid constantly flooding your system with noise and stimulation—both for the sake of your ears and your mental health. Djalilian recommends carving out a few minutes of silence every hour to allow your system to relax.