Foods That Will Help Your Hearing
What you eat can ultimately impact how well you hear. Keep an eye on the following ingredients while cooking. Some food can help maintain hearing levels, or even help prevent hearing loss in the first place.
Antioxidants & Folic Acid And Hearing Loss Prevention
A regular intake of antioxidants, especially in the form of folic acid commonly found in spinach, asparagus, beans, broccoli, eggs, liver, and nuts, can reduce the risk of hearing loss by up to 20 percent. Antioxidants reduce the number of disease-causing pathogens that can damage the nerve tissue in your inner ears. Heed your mother’s words: eat your veggies!
Magnesium And Hearing Loss Prevention
Magnesium, commonly found in bananas, potatoes, artichokes, and broccoli, has been shown to provide additional protection against noise-induced hearing loss. Still, eating a bunch of bananas won’t protect your ears and prevent hearing loss if you attend a concert!
Zinc And Hearing Loss Prevention
You can increase your inner ear’s resistance to the boon of age-related hearing loss by consuming a healthy dose of zinc. This can be found naturally in dark chocolate and oysters, to name a couple of sources.
Vitamin C And E And Hearing Loss Prevention
Similar to antioxidants, Vitamin C and E can keep disease-causing pathogens at bay and strengthen your overall immune system, thus reducing the risk of ear infections. These vitamins can be found in fruits and vegetables.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids And Vitamin D And Hearing Loss Prevention
The high levels of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D generally found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, trout, and sardines, can help prevent hearing loss. Studies have shown that adults who ate fish twice a week had a 42 percent lower chance of facing age-related hearing loss than non-fish eaters.
One study at Brigham and Women’s Hospital sampled more than 65,000 women over 18 years. For women who had two or more servings of fish, their risk of developing hearing loss was 20 percent lower than women who ate very little or no fish.
Shellfish, too, was shown to decrease the risk of hearing loss, as foods such as shrimp, lobsters, and scallops are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
More research is needed to understand the exact mechanisms by which omega-3 fatty acids help prevent hearing loss. It is currently postulated that omega-3 fatty acids may increase blood flow
to the cochlea, a part of the ear that is vital for healthy hearing. Medical conditions like obesity can limit blood flow to the cochlea, leading to an increased risk for hearing loss.
One thing is sure—the nutrients in fish are the ear’s friend! To get the recommended dose of omega-3 fatty acids, have salmon or other fish at least twice a week. If you’d like to avoid eating fish, many grocery stores carry omega-3 fatty acids pill supplements.