Working out at a public gym can be a rewarding experience. The sight of others sweating and straining their way to better health can be motivating for your workout. However, these noisy places may pose a threat to your hearing health. Loud music, weights banging, and heads swinging from side to side during high-impact aerobics add up to potential hearing problems. Know what exercises will help your hearing loss or tinnitus so you can build a better body while enjoying better hearing.
Strenuous Exercise And Hearing
There are three significant causes of hearing loss due to vigorous exercise:
- Strenuous exercise can cause a membrane in your inner ear to rupture, allowing fluid to leak resulting in hearing loss that may be temporary or permanent.
- The increase in intracranial pressure from exercise may cause the contents of the endolymphatic sac to flow backward to the cochlea, causing hearing loss.
- Hearing loss may be the result of a temporary lack of blood flow to the inner ear resulting from exercise.
Exercise The Proper Way
When protecting your hearing when you are burning calories at your favorite gym, it is essential to understand what you should and should not do during exercise:
- Get a hearing evaluation promptly if you experience any change in your ability to hear during or after a workout.
- Remember to reduce the amount of weight you lift to prevent excessive straining.
- Protect your hearing at gyms by wearing earplugs to safeguard against the loud music that is typically playing in the facility.
- Avoid holding your breath during exercises as it increases pressure within your ears.
- Do not strain during weightlifting.
- Stay clear of sports that include blows to the head, such as boxing or wrestling.
- Do not drop or bang weights during workouts. Not only does it annoy the other participants at the gym, but it quickly raises the noise level in the gym, which can damage hearing.
- Do not ignore the symptoms of hearing loss.
Exercises To Avoid
Specific exercises can cause or worsen tinnitus. Research points to a connection between high-impact aerobics and hearing dysfunction. The head jarring that typically occurs during high-impact aerobic workouts jars the otoconia, which are calcium crystals in our ears, out of place. The result is inner ear problems. If you have tinnitus, you need to avoid any exercises that include jarring movements of the head. Perform activities like running, basketball, football, and soccer in moderation.
Recommended Exercises
Regular exercise is excellent for the body, and it can be useful for tinnitus too. It can help reduce the symptoms of tinnitus. Exercise improves circulation, which nourishes the auditory system. Low-impact aerobics is an excellent alternative to high-impact workouts. These gentle exercises like yoga and Pilates may also reduce the stress and anxiety that is prevalent in those with tinnitus. Specific yoga exercises that benefit hearing loss include:
- Greeva Chalan. A neck flexion-extension exercise.
- Skandh Chalan. Shoulder exercise.
- Brahmari Pranayama. Breath control.
- Shankha Naad. The blowing of a snail pipe.
Exercise is critical for optimal health, but it might not be for your hearing. Take the time to learn what activities are functional and which ones are bad for your ears. Watch the blows to the head and protect your ears from the loud music in gyms. Most important, do not ignore a hearing loss. If you experience hearing loss from working out, seek medical attention immediately.
