3 ms·

How to protect your ears and avoid hearing loss: An illustrated guide

ksaj 3y ago
There are great points in here. I use hearing aids for two different reasons for each ear. My first hearing aid was because I had a benign tumor that while benign, ate away at my stapes. After surgery to remove it, I no longer have a stapes, and so while my ear drum and my inner ear work fine, only air pressure connects them - no bones. Then as I got older, my other ear started dulling, and so I got a second one. And I was actually really happy about that, because one thing hearing people wouldn't think about - modern hearing aids are little computers, and they have a lot of functions. When you have two hearing aids, one of them can focus on a voice and track it even if the person is moving while speaking. For the hearing aid wearer, it means you can hear this person super easily in places other people might find it too noisy! And they have settings, which are like the different named EQ settings some mp3 software have (rock, classical, etc) but way smarter. They're more about the environment around you, so mine (as an example) are set for "standard" which is the median of what you want to normally hear, then "voice in noise" which focuses in on voices while suppressing background noise, and "music/nature" that makes everything very 3D and super clear. The other settings I use are variations of the same, but there are others, for example "driving" that suppresses the sound of rubber on the road. So... protect your ears. But also don't be afraid of wearing hearing aids if you need them, because in some ways you'll get better hearing than you've ever had. (And you can use them to answer and talk on your phone without touching your phone... that's an added bonus!)
- victor106 3y ago
  > And you can use them to answer and talk on your phone without touching your phone Which brand heating aids let’s you do this?
  - ksaj 3y ago
    All modern hearing aids let you use your cell phone through them. Or at least the last 3 brands I've used over the years. They use Bluetooth LE to pair with.
j7ake 3y ago
Another aspect of return to office culture is that I feel the need to wear noise cancelling headphones for long periods of time. Has there been studies of how this habit of wearing headphones all day over a career affects hearing?
- gabrielsroka 3y ago
  4 days ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37302574 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37302574
jiehong 3y ago
Nice guide, but I feel it misses some tips. Some I recommend: - wear hearing protection foam when: going to a concert, on the plane (even with an ANC headphone on top of it sometimes), when sleeping at a loud hotel, etc. - use ANC headphones when taking a call on the phone or computer: it allows lowering the overall volume level while hearing better; - use ANC headphones on the metro if it regularly screeches with piercing noises; I wish bicycle helmets would be designed to decrease wind noise, to better hear the environment, or announcements on the metro in Munich to have a lower and more consistent volume, or for cities to just be quieter overall.
aaron695 3y ago
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ksaj 3y ago

There are great points in here. I use hearing aids for two different reasons for each ear. My first hearing aid was because I had a benign tumor that while benign, ate away at my stapes. After surgery to remove it, I no longer have a stapes, and so while my ear drum and my inner ear work fine, only air pressure connects them - no bones. Then as I got older, my other ear started dulling, and so I got a second one. And I was actually really happy about that, because one thing hearing people wouldn't think about - modern hearing aids are little computers, and they have a lot of functions. When you have two hearing aids, one of them can focus on a voice and track it even if the person is moving while speaking. For the hearing aid wearer, it means you can hear this person super easily in places other people might find it too noisy! And they have settings, which are like the different named EQ settings some mp3 software have (rock, classical, etc) but way smarter. They're more about the environment around you, so mine (as an example) are set for "standard" which is the median of what you want to normally hear, then "voice in noise" which focuses in on voices while suppressing background noise, and "music/nature" that makes everything very 3D and super clear. The other settings I use are variations of the same, but there are others, for example "driving" that suppresses the sound of rubber on the road. So... protect your ears. But also don't be afraid of wearing hearing aids if you need them, because in some ways you'll get better hearing than you've ever had. (And you can use them to answer and talk on your phone without touching your phone... that's an added bonus!)

victor106 3y ago
> And you can use them to answer and talk on your phone without touching your phone Which brand heating aids let’s you do this?
- ksaj 3y ago
  All modern hearing aids let you use your cell phone through them. Or at least the last 3 brands I've used over the years. They use Bluetooth LE to pair with.

j7ake 3y ago

Another aspect of return to office culture is that I feel the need to wear noise cancelling headphones for long periods of time. Has there been studies of how this habit of wearing headphones all day over a career affects hearing?

gabrielsroka 3y ago
4 days ago https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37302574 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37302574

jiehong 3y ago

Nice guide, but I feel it misses some tips. Some I recommend: - wear hearing protection foam when: going to a concert, on the plane (even with an ANC headphone on top of it sometimes), when sleeping at a loud hotel, etc. - use ANC headphones when taking a call on the phone or computer: it allows lowering the overall volume level while hearing better; - use ANC headphones on the metro if it regularly screeches with piercing noises; I wish bicycle helmets would be designed to decrease wind noise, to better hear the environment, or announcements on the metro in Munich to have a lower and more consistent volume, or for cities to just be quieter overall.

aaron695 3y ago

[dead]