It’s likely that you’ve already noticed that you don’t hear as well as you used to. Normally, we don’t even realize that our decisions are negatively affecting our hearing.

With a few basic lifestyle changes, many types of hearing loss can be prevented. What follows are 6 tips that will help you maintain your hearing.

1. Regulate Your Blood Pressure

It’s not good if your blood pressure remains high. A study found that people with above-average blood pressure are 52% more likely to have hearing loss, not to mention other health issues.

Take steps to reduce your blood pressure and avoid hearing damage. Don’t neglect high blood pressure or wait to see a doctor. Following your doctor’s orders, eating a healthy diet, managing stress, and exercising regularly are all parts of blood pressure management.

2. Stop Smoking

There are plenty of good reasons to quit smoking, here’s yet another: Hearing loss is 15% more likely to impact smokers. What’s even more surprising is that there’s a 28% higher chance of someone developing hearing issues if they are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke. The dangerous consequences of second-hand smoke are not only harmful, they also remain in the air for long periods.

Think about protecting your hearing, if you smoke, by quitting. If you hang out with a smoker, take actions to reduce your exposure to second-hand smoke.

3. Keep Your Diabetes in Check

Diabetes or pre-diabetes affects one out of four adults. A pre-diabetic person is extremely likely to get diabetes within 5 years unless they make significant lifestyle changes.

Blood vessels that are damaged by high blood sugar don’t effectively transport nutrients. A diabetic person is more than twice as likely to cope with hearing loss compared to a non-diabetic person.

If you have diabetes, take the steps necessary to correctly control it. If you are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, safeguard your hearing by making lifestyle changes to prevent it.

4. Lose Some Weight

This isn’t about body image or feeling great about yourself. It’s about your health. Hearing loss and other health disorders increase as your Body Mass Index (BMI) increases. A slightly obese woman (with a 30 to 34 BMI) has a 17% increased risk of getting hearing loss. A moderately obese person has a 25% risk of hearing loss if they have a BMI of 40.

Take actions to shed that extra weight. Your life can be prolonged and your hearing can be protected by something as basic as walking for 30 minutes each day.

5. OTC Drugs Shouldn’t be Overused

Hearing impairment can be the outcome of some over-the-counter (OTC) medications. The more often these medications are used over a long period of time, the greater the risk.

Typical over-the-counter drugs that affect hearing include aspirin, NSAIDs (like naproxen, ibuprofen), and acetaminophen. Use these drugs in moderation and only with your doctor’s guidance if you need to take them more regularly.

Studies show that you’ll most likely be fine if you’re using these medications periodically in the suggested doses. The risk of hearing loss increases up to 40% for men, however, when these medicines are used on a day-to-day basis.

Your doctor’s guidance should always be implemented. But if you’re using these medications each day to manage chronic pain or thin your blood, speak with your doctor about lifestyle changes you can implement to reduce your dependence on OTC drugs.

6. Eat More Broccoli

Broccoli is high in nutrients and vitamins such as C and K and also has lots of iron. Iron is essential to blood circulation and a healthy heart. Iron helps your blood carry nutrients and oxygen to cells to keep them healthy and nourished.

If you’re a vegetarian or eat very little meat, it’s important that you consume enough plant-based iron. The iron found in plants is not as bioavailable as the iron in meat so people in this group are more likely to be deficient in iron.

Pennsylvania State University researchers examined over 300,000 individuals. People who have anemia (severe iron deficiency) are twice as likely, according to this research, to develop sensorineural hearing loss than individuals who have typical iron concentrations. Age-related irreversible hearing loss is what the technical term “sensorineural hearing loss” refers to.

The inner ear has fragile hair cells that pick up sounds and interact with the brain to transmit the volume and frequency of those sounds. If these hair cells die due to poor circulation or other complications related to iron deficiency, they never grow back.

You’re never too young to get your hearing examined, so don’t wait until it gets worse. Apply these steps to your life and reduce hearing loss.