Ototoxic drugs are those which are toxic to the ears and can lead to hearing loss. They can be over the counter medicines such as aspirin, a few antibiotics, drugs used for chemotherapy, loop diuretics and a few anti inflammatory drugs. If one’s doctor prescribes these medicines he should ask the doctor whether the medicine has hearing loss as side effect or not. If the medicine has such side effect one should opt for a substitute of the medicine. It is recommended that one takes the advice of his doctor when he prescribes them.

Exposure to noise is one of the major causes of hearing loss. One can make out whether the noise is beyond hearing limits when one is forced to raise his voice to be understood, it hurts one’s ears. Though this is the main cause of hearing loss, it can be easily prevented by making a few minor changes in one’s life style. One should obstruct the noise by wearing earmuffs, earplugs, sound isolating or noise canceling headphones. One should never turn up the volume of music players to compete with background noise. Whenever possible one should avoid loud noise. Wearing ear protection devices during rock concerts or car races helps in preventing hearing loss.

Music is amplified when heard using earphones or headphones. Some people have the habit of listening to loud music. The use of earphones amplifies the risk of hearing loss as loud noise leads to damaging of the minute hair cells of the ear.

Using ear buds or cleaning your ears with some other tool can cause hearing loss. One should never clean his ear with a cotton swab or any other tool. This might push the ear wax deeper in the ear and cause hearing loss. The best way to clean your ear is by getting it cleared by a ENT specialist.

Musicians job involve listening to the sounds. These sounds may be as high as 135 dB. Thus it becomes very necessary for the musicians to adopt measures to prevent hearing loss. Musicians should use earplugs made especially for musicians. These earplugs reduce the sound across the entire spectrum and make the sound softer. If schools students are taking part in a musical program they can buy the less expensive earplug. These earplugs should be worn by people who work in the music industry.

There are some sounds you hear everyday which can be avoided as it is not necessary to hear them. You should prioritize and decide the sounds which are not necessary to be heard. These can be noise of jackhammers and trucks. You should make a conscious effort to avoid these noises.

You should take care of your heart and veins and keep them healthy as high blood pressure and problems with circulation of blood through the veins can cause hearing loss. This happens as the blood supply affects the delicate structures of the ear.

Smoking can lead to hearing loss as the smoke travels to the ear through the Eustachian tubes and causes hearing loss. Studies show that smokers are 1.69 times prone to developing hearing loss as compared to non smokers of developing hearing loss. To quit smoking the best way is to do deep breathing exercise which reduces the craving for smoke. Another best practice is to destroy all your cigarettes. Try drinking mint tea after meals if you get a craving for smoke. Ask the people around you not to smoke in your presence.

Several people listen to loud music. Some play their music at high levels to block the background noise. This is very dangerous as loud sound damages the tiny hair cells of the ear causing hearing loss. So you should not listen to loud music. If while listening to a song you feel that the background of the outside noise is increasing you should turn down the volume of the music.