Natural Ways to Improve Your Hearing: 9 Habits With Research Behind Them

By Glen MercerEditor, Improve Hearing NaturallyUpdated October 24, 20265 min read

Hearing that has been lost to age or noise doesn't grow back, but a lot of what decides how well you hear at 60 or 70 is in your hands. These are the habits with real research behind them, roughly in order of how much difference they make.

1. Turn the volume down

Noise is the biggest avoidable cause of hearing loss. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, sounds at or below 70 decibels are unlikely to cause damage even after long exposure, while long or repeated exposure at 85 decibels and above can. Normal conversation sits around 60 to 70. Heavy traffic, a lawnmower or a loud restaurant reaches 85 or more, and concerts, power tools and headphones at full volume go well past 100.

The louder the sound, the less time it takes to cause harm. A rough rule for earbuds is to keep them below about 60% of maximum volume and give your ears breaks. If you have to raise your voice to talk to someone an arm's length away, the room is loud enough to matter.

2. Wear hearing protection when it's loud

Foam earplugs cost a few cents and cut 20 to 30 decibels when they are rolled and inserted properly. Keep a pair in the car and in your jacket for concerts, sporting events, mowing and workshop jobs. Musicians' earplugs lower the volume evenly, so music still sounds natural. Earmuffs are easier for children and for people who find plugs uncomfortable.

3. Eat a Mediterranean or DASH-style diet

What you eat seems to matter. In a long-running study of more than 70,000 women, those whose diets most closely followed the Mediterranean or DASH patterns (plenty of vegetables, fruit, legumes, whole grains, fish and olive oil, little red meat or sugar) had about a 30% lower risk of developing moderate or worse hearing loss than those whose diets matched least. The likely reason is the inner ear's dependence on healthy small blood vessels, the same thing these diets protect elsewhere in the body.

4. Stay active

The same research group found that women who were the most physically active had a 17% lower risk of hearing loss than the least active, and walking two or more hours a week was enough to show a benefit. Higher body weight and a larger waist were linked with higher risk. Exercise keeps blood flowing well to the cochlea, which has a single small artery and no backup supply.

5. Don't smoke

Smoking narrows blood vessels and adds toxins that the inner ear doesn't tolerate well. A meta-analysis of observational studies found smokers were consistently more likely to have hearing loss, with the risk roughly doubled in the long-term cohort studies. Quitting is one of the few changes that helps your ears, heart and lungs at once.

6. Keep blood pressure and blood sugar in range

People with diabetes are about twice as likely to have hearing loss, and high blood pressure shows a similar pattern. Both damage small blood vessels and nerves, and the inner ear is full of both. Regular checkups, medication when you need it, and the diet and exercise habits above all help.

7. Leave earwax alone (mostly)

Earwax protects the ear canal and usually moves out on its own. Cotton swabs push it deeper and can pack it against the eardrum, which muffles hearing. If wax builds up, a few drops of mineral oil or an over-the-counter softener for several days is usually enough, and a doctor can remove stubborn plugs safely. Ear candling doesn't work and can burn the ear; the ENT Health guide to earwax explains why.

8. Get your hearing tested

A baseline hearing test in your 50s, and every few years after 60, catches loss early, when hearing aids and habits help most. Many people with mild loss don't notice it because it starts at high pitches. Our guide on how to prepare for a hearing test explains what to expect.

9. Use hearing aids if you need them

Hearing aids don't restore damaged cells, but they keep the brain's hearing pathways busy and make conversation less tiring. Since 2022, adults with mild to moderate loss can buy them over the counter. There is growing evidence that treating hearing loss also matters for the brain; see our note on hearing loss and memory.

What about supplements?

Some vitamins, minerals and herbs have early research for protecting the inner ear, mostly in noise exposure, and none can replace the habits above. We go through the evidence ingredient by ingredient in natural treatments for hearing loss, and our Audifort review looks at one popular hearing formula in detail.

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