Why men are more prone to hearing loss

Ladies, have your husbands or male friends ever asked you to repeat something? Men, do you find yourselves repeating, “Sorry, what?” more often? Well, when it comes down to the sexes, men are more prone to hearing loss than women.

Now ladies, before you give yourself a pat on the back for your hearing ability, it’s important to understand why this occurs. It has less to do with being male or female, and more to do with our lifestyles.

Men don’t hear as well as women

The 2012-2013 Canadian Health Measures Survey results released this month reveal that men are more likely to experience hearing loss in comparison to women. About a quarter of men in the survey experienced hearing loss compared to only 14 percent of women. But genes are not to blame when it comes to this health decline.

The survey revealed that men are more likely to work in noisier environments – construction, for example. Another significant factor is that men are more likely to develop heart disease.

But what do matters of the heart have to do with hearing? Well, heart disease limits the amount of oxygen which our body parts require to function. Less oxygen means less blood flow, which means our hearing slowly declines. Lifestyle habits like smoking also cause a similar affect and can contribute to hearing loss.

How men can prevent hearing loss

Gentleman, listen up! You don’t have to suffer hearing loss and you can continue to listen to the sweet voices of your female friends and family. Simple steps can be taken to ensure you hold onto your hearing for many years to come.

First and foremost, avoid loud environments – if you can’t, wear protection. If you know you work where lots of noise occurs, ensure you are wearing protective ear gear like earplugs. Also, specifically when wearing headphones, keep the volume down. Listening to loud noises in close proximity can cause hearing loss.

Furthermore, never stick anything in your ears – including cotton swabs, pens, fingers, etc. These objects can damage your eardrum over time causing hearing loss. Lastly, pay attention to changes in your ears. Are they hurting? Ringing? Or you’ve just noticed some buzzing?

Any onset of an ear infection can turn into hearing loss, so noticing when these changes occurs can prompt you to seek out medical advice as soon as possible.

So if you want to hold onto your hearing for many years to come, these tips can help ensure you don’t become a victim to hearing loss. In the meantime, ladies don’t feel frustrated if your man continuously asks you to repeat yourself. It’s not their fault after all.


Related Reading:

You’re at greater risk for hearing loss than you think

Buzzing, ringing and constantly asking, “Could you repeat that?” are all associated with hearing loss. It seems the older you get, the less you can actually hear. You start to raise the volume on the TV or radio and you’re always straining to hear what people are saying.

What’s really causing your hearing loss

You may have been told that all those years of enduring loud noises is the reason your hearing may be going. But new research is offering some good news for those of us who are hard of hearing. Given our aging population, that’s a lot of us!