St Johns Ambulance - Ears

‘No one ever got into trouble listening too much’. While this is true, our ears play two specific roles in how we live our day to day. Ears allow us to hear the world around us, and they keep us balanced, they contain the smallest bones in our body and can be quite fragile when not looked after.

Things that can go wrong with our ears,

• deafness – can be permanent or temporary, mild or significant. Can be due to many causes, including aging, disease and injury, wear ear protection.
• ear infection – inflammation, often caused by bacteria.
• dizziness – this is often used to describe symptoms ranging from a sense that the room is spinning or moving (vertigo), to a loss of balance and giddiness.
• tinnitus – a sensation of ringing or other noises in the ears.
• wax – a build-up of wax can cause temporary deafness.

The most common causes of hearing loss are age-related and excessive exposure to loud noise. Hearing loss caused by exposure to loud noise is preventable. One study suggests 37% of Australians have noise related ear damage. It is important to keep our ears clean, avoid sticking anything sharp in your ears, this includes cottons buds, they can do more harm than good by pushing ear wax further down your ear canal. Wear ear protection when using tools or mowing the lawn, and please, if you hear any of this, keep the volume on your headphones and earbuds as low as possible, the sound may not seem loud, but it is concentrated and can be harmful.

If your inner ear becomes painful, hearing is impaired or there is any unusual discharge from your ear canal, make an appointment to see a doctor.

For more information, visit: https://www.health.gov.au/health-topics/ear-health

If you are interested in becoming a St John volunteer or, for more information, please email norfolk.island@stjohnnsw.com.au or james.garden@stjohnnsw.com.au