{"id":631,"date":"2015-10-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-10-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/oral-health-and-hearing-brushing-is-music-to-our-ears\/"},"modified":"2015-10-07T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T00:00:00","slug":"oral-health-and-hearing-brushing-is-music-to-our-ears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/dental-care-blog\/oral-health-and-hearing-brushing-is-music-to-our-ears\/","title":{"rendered":"Oral Health And Hearing: Brushing Is Music To Our Ears"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\"\" HAVE YOU EVER HEARD<\/strong> your favorite music performed live? You likely noticed things that often don\u2019t come across in a low-quality recording\u2014the exact texture of the instruments and richness of the sound, for example. The parts of our auditory system that pick these things up are delicate, and can be dulled by trauma or disease. What does this have to do with brushing your teeth?<\/strong> A lot, actually! Research is making it clear how far-reaching the benefits of good oral health are, including links to reduced risk of hearing loss. <\/p>\n

It All Begins With Bacteria<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Our mouths are home to billions of microbes of many different species. Many of them aren\u2019t anything to worry about, but some of the more harmful microbes in dental plaque cause inflammation and tooth decay. If not removed by regular brushing and flossing, these bacteria will work their way into the bloodstream through infected, irritated gums. Once inside the circulatory system, they inflame and narrow blood vessels in other parts of the body. When blood vessels that feed the auditory system are restricted, the fragile \u201chairs\u201d that pick up sounds in the inner ear\u2014called stereocilia\u2014can be damaged, leading to hearing loss. And here\u2019s the kicker: stereocilia don\u2019t grow back<\/strong>. [youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=VxcbppCX6Rk?rel=0&end=84&w=543&h=305] <\/p>\n

3 Keys to Reduce Risk of Hearing Loss<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hearing loss occurs naturally with age\u2014in fact, it affects about one out of three people by age 65. But there are steps each of us can take to reduce the risk and severity of the problem. Here are three easy-to-remember points: <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Maintain good oral hygiene<\/strong>. <\/strong>Twice daily brushing and daily flossing will keep inflammation-causing bacteria from causing problems.<\/li>\n
  2. Wear hearing protection like earplugs or earmuffs<\/strong> if you work around constant loud noises.<\/li>\n
  3. Turn down your music<\/strong>, especially young people with headphones. If someone can overhear it in your headphones, it\u2019s probably too loud.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Oral Care Improves All Areas of Life<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Hearing is just one part of life preserved or enhanced by good hygiene. It\u2019s impossible to ignore how much oral care, or the lack thereof, affects day-to-day living. We have a \u201cbig picture\u201d view of dentistry as an essential component of overall health, so\u00a0our advice and treatment is focused on making lasting improvements to quality of life! <\/p>\n

    Thanks for reading! We look forward to talking with you during\u00a0your next visit.<\/h4>\n

    Top image by Flickr user Will Keightley<\/a><\/span> used under Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 4.0 license<\/a><\/span>. Image cropped and modified from original.<\/h6>\n
    The content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.<\/span><\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    HAVE YOU EVER HEARD<\/strong> your favorite music performed live? You likely noticed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[176],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-631","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","category-176","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=631"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mydentalpracticeblog.com\/hudsonhighlandsdentistry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}