Do you have trouble hearing people in a crowded restaurant? Do
you want to be able to hear the birds in the park down the street?
Do you have trouble hearing the special subtleties in classical or
other fine music? There are a few steps you can take to improve
your hearing and catch those things you have been missing!
Steps
- Make sure your ears are clean and healthy. Talk to a doctor to
check your ears for any physical damage or hearing
'conditions.'
- Reduce the noise level of anything you have control over. Turn
down everything so you must focus in order to point it out. This
will cause your brain to work harder to hear things. This is an
exercise to focus your energy into your hearing. In time, the brain
will actually change and be able to do this easier.
- Talk softly, using your inside voice. This will also exercise
your brain to focus on tone and subtle changes rather than just
high volume. This also helps relationships that might be aggravated
by high-volume yelling.
- Do as many quiet activities as possible so your ears can adjust
to the overall environment volume. Try to spend time in perfect
silence. Try turning off the radio and just listening to the
'small' things around you. Before long, you'll be hearing those
special things you would like to hear.
Tips
- To clean your ears without putting anything in them, use a
small amount of hydrogen peroxide which cleans any bacteria within
the ear and then dissolves away into water and can drain out.
- If you must be exposed to loud noise, consider wearing ear
plugs that muffle noise rather than eliminate it completely. This
will keep your ears from injury and keep your brain from reverting
back to a dull sense of hearing.
- Remember people always hear what they want to hear. If you want
to hear birds, then think about them, listen to examples online or
other places so you know what to listen for. Close your eyes when
you think of them.
Warnings
- Don't stick anything in your ears. If you must clean your ears,
take special care not to poke or jam anything deep into your
ear.
