9 suggestions for preventing hearing loss

Over time, your sensitive ears are exposed to many damaging factors. But you can protect your ears and help to prevent hearing loss with these nine simple suggestions.

Fireworks and loud, booming rockets are a staple of holiday events around the world. Enjoy them to the fullest — with your eyes. Meanwhile, keep earplugs firmly in place in your ears.

Ringing in the ears is a problem for 10 to 14 percent of older adults and often the noise may sound like a squeal, roar, whistle or hiss. Steps you can take to get some relief include:

• Controlling your blood pressure
• Lowering your cholesterol
• Avoiding alcohol, which increases blood flow to the inner ear
• Masking the annoying buzz with quiet "white noise" like a fan or soft radio static

When University of Maryland researchers compared the blood sugar levels and hearing levels of 1,644 women and men, they found that those with diabetes were 30 percent more likely to have hearing loss than those without diabetes.

High blood sugar damages tiny nerves and blood vessels in the ears — and throughout the body — giving people with diabetes one more reason to keep sugar levels healthy.

In lab studies, magnesium deficiencies appear to stress cells in the ear. A two-month study of army recruits found that a little magnesium seemed to protect them from some permanent noise-related hearing loss.

Rich dietary sources of magnesium include:

• pumpkin seeds
• Swiss chard
• halibut
• flax seeds
• brown rice
• navy beans

In a Dutch study of 728 older women and men, those who got 800 micrograms of folic acid a day had less hearing loss after three years than those who didn't.

Try to eat foods rich in this important B vitamin, such as:

• split pea soup
• whole-grain bread
• spinach
• fortified breakfast cereals
• orange juice

Soothe — and protect — your ears at the same time. Some research suggests a little alcohol somehow slows age-related hearing losses.

Exercise improves the flow of blood to every cell in your body — including the ever-so-delicate hair cells inside your ears. But don't listen to loud music on headphones while you walk or work out. A Swedish study found that even at a moderate volume, exercisers with headphones had hearing loss after just 10 minutes.

A small Canadian study found that bedmates of snorers suffered hearing loss in the ear closest to the person making all that night noise. Snoring can reach 80 decibels — as loud as someone yelling for help — or even 90 decibels — equivalent to truck traffic.

In a lab study at the University of Michigan, extra vitamin A, C and E seemed to protect against ear damage caused by exposure to loud noises. Skip the supplements, though.

• Get extra vitamin A from sweet potatoes, carrots, and turnip greens as well as mango, papaya, and apricots
• Soak up extra vitamin E in almonds, pistachios, and wheat germ
• For vitamin C, try citrus, strawberries, and red bell peppers

With a few simple changes and some precautionary measures you can make the most of your hearing health for years to come.