How’s your hearing? We often take our hearing health for granted until something goes wrong. We may expose our ears to dangerously loud noise, fail to wear hearing protection, or maintain habits that can be harmful to our hearing. Along with turning down the volume and stubbing out that cigarette, these are some of the top nutrients that can boost your hearing health.

Folate

Vitamin B-9, or folate, is an essential vitamin. This nutrient performs a number of essential functions, including keeping your red blood cells healthy. This is important for adequate oxygen supply throughout the entry body, including to your ears. A study from 2003 found that those with sensorineural hearing loss have low folate levels. Make sure you’re eating foods high in vitamin B-9. This includes broccoli, leafy green vegetables, asparagus, nuts, beans, and eggs.

Vitamin B-12

This vitamin has several important functions. For example, it helps your body produce red blood cells, plays a role in nerve function, and even helps produce DNA. Vitamin B12 also affects your ears. Low B12 is linked to age-related hearing loss. Insufficient B12 can restrict blood flow in the ears, leading to cell damage or even cell death. This causes hearing loss or tinnitus. To increase your vitamin B12 levels, you can eat meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy products, or fortified breakfast cereals.

Vitamins A and E

Next, let’s talk about vitamins A and E. These two vitamins can help prevent hearing loss. A 2011 study found that increased Vitamin A was associated with a 47% reduced risk of hearing loss, and vitamin E was linked to a 14% decreased risk of hearing loss. That’s enough to convince anyone to eat their greens! Get vitamin A from foods like beef liver, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, and eggs. Increase your Vitamin E intake with seeds, squash, sweet potatoes, avocado, and almonds.

Omega-3 fatty acids

This nutrient plays a major role in your body. It gives your body and brain energy, and it is involved in many functions in the blood vessels, lungs, heart, immune system, and endocrine system. Omega 3s also reduce inflammation and minimize your risk of heart disease. This nutrient plays a role in your hearing health as well. A study from 2010 found that people who have a diet high in omega 3 fatty acids were 42% less likely to suffer from age-related hearing loss. To get your daily dose of omega 3s, eat fish, sardines, eggs, grass-fed beef, or walnuts.

Vitamin C

We all know how important vitamin C is for our overall health. It boosts our immune system, gives us more energy, and reduces the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Vitamin C is also really important for your hearing health. It can protect your ears from free radicals that can cause noise-induced hearing loss. Vitamin C can act as a protection against noise, and together with hearing protection, can lower your risk of noise-induced hearing loss. Studies show that vitamin C can also improve the symptoms of sudden hearing loss. You can find vitamin C in citrus fruits, bell peppers, dark leafy greens, broccoli, and vitamin C supplements.

Magnesium

Minerals are another important nutrient your body needs. It is involved in muscle regulation, blood pressure, and nerve function. Magnesium also works with vitamin C to fight free radicals and protect your ears from dangerously loud noise. To increase magnesium in your diet, eat broccoli, legumes, spinach, almonds, seeds, beans, edamame, whole grains, and dairy products.

Potassium

Another important mineral is potassium. This nutrient regulates fluid in the body, in the blood, and in your ears. Potassium can help you maintain your hearing health, and you’ll want to increase your potassium intake over time since potassium levels drop with age. Find potassium in foods like oranges, bananas, grapefruit, mushrooms, spinach, cucumbers, potatoes, leafy greens, fish, and beans.

Boosting Your Hearing Health

Are you ready to boost your hearing health? Visit us today to learn more about your hearing health. We’ll help you learn more about your hearing health, give you tips to protect your hearing, and help you find out what you can do to improve your hearing. If you have hearing loss, we’ll help you find the right hearing aids to match your hearing needs.