Hearing care: simple daily habits that protect your ears

The best way to care for your hearing is to limit loud noise, give your ears regular breaks, keep them clean without cotton swabs and have your hearing checked from time to time. Add a balanced diet and good sleep, and you have a routine that looks after your ears every day.

1. Follow the 60/60 rule for headphones

Listen at no more than 60 % of maximum volume and for no more than 60 minutes in a row. Noise-cancelling headphones help because you do not need to turn the volume up to cover the noise around you.

2. Give your ears quiet breaks

After a concert, a loud party or a shift in a noisy workplace, your ears need time to recover. Plan a quiet evening and avoid headphones for a while.

3. Wear protection where it is loud

Foam or musician's earplugs cost little and make a big difference at concerts, sports events, on the motorbike and with power tools in the garden or workshop.

4. Keep cotton swabs away from the ear canal

Ears clean themselves. Swabs push wax deeper and can irritate the canal. Clean only the outer ear; if you feel blocked, ask a pharmacist or doctor.

5. Check your hearing regularly

After 50, a hearing test every few years is a good idea — earlier if you work in noise or notice changes. Many changes are gradual and easy to miss.

6. Move every day

Regular activity is good for your heart and circulation — and a healthy circulation matters for every organ, ears included.

7. Eat a varied diet

Vegetables, fruit, whole grains, fish and nuts provide the vitamins and minerals your body needs every day. Some people also choose a targeted supplement such as Aurivit, which combines ginkgo and rhodiola extracts with vitamins A and B2.

8. Sleep and manage stress

Tiredness and stress do not damage hearing, but they make ringing and noise more bothersome. A regular sleep rhythm helps. Vitamin B2 contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue.

9. Notice the early signs

• You ask people to repeat themselves more often
• The TV volume keeps going up
• Conversations in restaurants are tiring
• You hear ringing when it is quiet

Any of these is a good reason for a hearing check — and for paying a little more attention to your daily habits.