Happy New Year! If your New Year’s Resolution for 2026 is to take better care of your health, don’t neglect your hearing health. Here are some goals or resolutions we recommend you adopt to prioritize your hearing health in 2026.
Get Your Hearing Checked
Approximately 30 million people in the United States require hearing aids. If you currently aren’t using hearing aids, it’s a great idea to get a hearing test performed with an audiologist to establish what your baseline hearing health is. Even if you discover from the hearing test that you don’t need hearing aids at this time, you’ll have a reference point for the rest of the year so you can monitor changes.
If you are a current user of hearing aids, it’s still wise to get a hearing test done every couple of years in order to check that your hearing aids are still meeting your hearing loss needs. You and your audiologist can also make sure your hearing aids are still fitting properly and create customized listening programs together.
Socialize with Confidence
Hearing what people are saying and following a conversation, especially in noisy settings, can be a major challenge for those with hearing loss. If you know you need hearing aids but have been hesitating on starting the process, you should know that hearing aids can help you reenter conversations and hear what people are saying with clarity. If you’ve been saying “what?” frequently or even found yourself withdrawing from social settings due to concern about your hearing loss, 2026 is the perfect time to visit an audiologist and discuss getting hearing aids.
Protect Your Hearing
Whether you wear hearing aids already or not, protect your residual hearing by practicing good hearing protection. Exposure to loud noise is the second-leading cause of hearing loss (right behind aging). And it isn’t just a single instance of a deafening noise—such as an explosion—that can cause noise-induced hearing loss; prolonged exposure to slightly elevated noise levels can also cause damage over time, and this type of noise exposure can be much harder to notice.
This year, resolve to protect your residual hearing by using hearing protection. Wear earplugs or ear muffs whenever you know you’ll be somewhere with loud noise, like a concert or shooting range. Monitor noise levels at your workplace to make sure they aren’t at dangerous levels, and if they are, discuss hearing protection with your manager.
Take Care of Your Hearing Aids
We know hearing aids are a significant investment. Therefore, it’s important to take good care of your hearing aids to ensure they stay in good working order for as long as possible. Practice good hearing aid hygiene by cleaning them daily, and be aware of earwax buildup, which is the leading cause of hearing aid malfunctions. Visit your audiologist regularly for maintenance and professional cleaning appointments. Finally, never submerge them in water and avoid getting them wet.
If you have any questions about hearing health, hearing protection or hearing aid care, call our experts at Audiology Associates of Redding. We want you to have clear, healthy hearing in 2026 and are happy to be a part of your hearing loss journey.