”8 Things You Didn’t Know About Your Ears” is a collaborative post and includes affiliate links. Please see the disclosure page for more information. Disclaimer – always verify medical information with your doctor or a professional and follow all laws for your location.
When you think about your ears, chances are that you are going to focus on the fact that they are all about hearing and nothing else. Of course, it goes without saying that the main function that our ears have is to listen. But did you know there are plenty of other things that our ears can do for us?
Want to know more about your ears? Here are 8 things that you didn’t know about your ear –
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Your ear canal skin grows at a crazy rate
It isn’t always the nicest thing to think about, but the skin inside our ears will fall out on a regular basis. This is why we see the flakes every now and then. Rather than being grossed out by the idea of this, you should know that if this skin didn’t fall out of your ear, you would have a two-foot cord of skin hanging out of your ear by the age of 20. EEEEWWWWW! Raise you hand if you’ve ever watch the YouTube videos of people getting old skin & wax cleaned out of their ears by their doctor. Oh… no one else has. Um… me neither.
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That ringing needs a doctor’s visit
We all get a ringing in our ears from time to time, but that doesn’t mean that it is something that we should ignore. A persistent ringing sound in our ears can be a sign that we are suffering from tinnitus. It might not always be a ringing, it could also be a buzzing, a whooshing, a humming, or a hissing sound.
Tinnitus is something that should be checked over by your doctor just to make sure that you know the cause as well as the best tinnitus treatment that you can try. It could be linked to another form of hearing loss, or perhaps another condition such as MS or diabetes. Listen to your ears to help you stay physically healthy.
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Your ears are linked to your balance
If you suffer from vertigo, or you sometimes get a little on the wobbly side, then what you may not realize is that your ears could be to blame. Dizziness can often be associated with a problem such as an ear infection. Your inner ears are full of fluid, which moves around to signal around to your brain that you are moving. The position of this fluid will show your brain whether you are sitting, leaning back, or lying down. There are several reasons that could cause vertigo.
One of my nieces recently had benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). From MayoClinic.org, “BPPV occurs when calcium crystals in your inner ear — which help control your balance — are dislodged from their normal positions and move elsewhere in the inner ear. BPPV is the most common cause of vertigo in adults. You might experience a spinning sensation when turning in bed or tilting your head back to look up.” You can read about more possible reasons for inner ear imbalance issues at MayoClinic.org but make sure you speak with a medical professional if this is something you are dealing with.
Your hearing is based on little hairs
The loudest concert I ever went to was Nine Inch Nails back in my late teens. It was amazingly fun. Me being the craycray that I am jumped in a mosh pit (hollar to my BFF who was with me) where I quickly was tossed on top of the crowd and surfed. It was INCREDIBLE but… talk about hearing damage. Eh? Wha? I can’t hear your response. LOL The vast majority of your hearing is based around a variety of tiny hairs that are found deep inside your ear. If these hairs fall out, then you will find that you start to lose your hearing. I guess that’s kind of like crowd surfing… if the people holding you up start passing out, it’s like the little hairs falling out and not being able to “carry” the sound.
You can damage your ears with loud noises
Your ears are a lot more fragile than you may realize and if you hear a sound which is too loud, for a long period of time, then you could end up damaging your ear. Thankfully the concert wasn’t very long since Trent Reznor was feeling “under the weather.” (Sick or higher than a kite – not sure but he put on an awesome show! Hopefully he was ok.) Anywho, your ear damage could be a short-term issue or something much longer term. Anything over 90 decibels over a long period of time can cause you harm, but being exposed to a sound over 140 decibels (such as a jet engine) then you could cause some immediate harm. According to the University of Michigan Health, “A sound’s loudness is measured in decibels (dB). Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a lawn mower is about 90 dB, and a loud rock concert is about 120 dB.” So stop hanging out around jet engines without proper equipment! Plus, this is a good reason to wear ear plugs while at a concert.
Inside your ear you will find tiny bones
There are three tiny bones in your ear. These bones are so small that they can fit on a penny. They are called the Stapes, Malleus, and Incus. The smallest of which are Stapes which is the smallest bone in the human body.
Our ears can’t handle pressure
Have you ever had the feeling that ears have popped, or that you are slightly deaf? Particularly related to flying or climbing to a high height. The reason for this is because the Eustachian tube in our ear finds it hard to maintain pressure. This can leave you feeling dizzy or there being discomfort and even pain in your ear.
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The ear never sleeps
Our ears never sleep, even when we are completely switched off, our ears are still working and listening out for any sounds. While our ears will still pick up sounds that it hears as we sleep, it is our brain that then blocks them out and stops us from “hearing” them.
Our ears are an incredibly important part of our body and we should do whatever we can to take proper care of them. Not only should we learn what they can do for us, but also think about what we can do to make sure that they are in the best health possible.The most important thing to do is to make sure that we get any issues that we find with our ears checked out as soon as we can. The best thing to do is to make sure that these problems don’t get worse.
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