Listen up! 5 essential habits for better ear health

Author: Nikisha Oladipupo
Published: May 11, 2017
Last reviewed by: Leightons Clinical Team
Last reviewed: February 02, 2026

If you want to keep your ears healthy and your hearing in good condition, you can do a lot worse than picking up some of these ear care habits. Here are our top five ear care tips:

1. Don’t poke things into your ears

We all know we shouldn’t, but over a third of UK adults still use cotton buds to clean wax from their ears. It’s a bad habit that results in thousands of hospital admissions every year.

Cotton buds strip away the ear’s natural oils, and can potentially cause permanent hearing loss, earache, itchiness, infections, tinnitus, and even balance problems.

If earwax build up is a problem, our accredited hearing care professionals are trained to carefully remove wax by gentle irrigation or microsuction techniques (a course of ear drops may be required prior to treatment). Pop into your local Leightons branch for more details.

2. Protect your ears from loud noises

Noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) doesn’t just affect musicians. It’s the second most common cause of hearing loss in the world, and as much as 20% of the UK population suffers from NIHL. Prevention is the best strategy: try the 60/60 rule when listening to music through headphones or earbuds – listen to music at no more than 60% of full volume for no more than 60 minutes a day.

Wearing earplugs at loud events or while operating loud machinery can also help protect your hearing. Specialist earplugs like the ACS Ear Protection range are ideal for keeping dangerously loud noises to a minimum.

3. Keep your ears dry

Too much moisture in your ears can lead to a build up of bacteria, so be sure to gently towel dry your ears after showering or swimming. If that doesn’t work, try tilting your head to the side and let gravity do the work for you.

Keen swimmers can try custom-fit swimmers' earplugs, which prevent water from entering the ear canal. Drop into your local Leightons branch to find out more.

4. Reduce your stress levels

In most cases, undiagnosed hearing loss is the underlying cause of tinnitus, but stress can be another big factor. Keeping stress to a minimum is believed to reduce awareness of tinnitus symptoms, making it easier to live with.

Although there is no known cure for tinnitus, symptoms can be controlled through effective audiological management, advice and relaxation. Reducing your anxiety levels – if you can – is a great place to start.

5. Have regular ear tests

Despite 11 million people in the UK living with hearing loss, it takes an average of ten years for sufferers to address the condition.

If you are having difficulty following a conversation or you’re straining to hear over background noise, then you should arrange a hearing test as soon as possible. Hearing aids are small, easy to use, and can change lives for the better.

If you have any concerns about your hearing, our experienced audiologists are here to help deliver the best ear care advice for you. Book an appointment online or call us on 0800 40 20 20.

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How do hearing amplifiers work?
Hearing amplification devices increase the volume and might make it easier for you to hear sounds louder. Yet they not a prescribed product and do not match your individual needs. Hearing loss is extremely common – millions of people in the UK live with a hearing loss, so you’re not alone. At Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care, our expert audiologists will help you identify the best device for you, in most cases this is a Hearing Aid. What is a hearing amplifier? Much like a tiny PA system, hearing amplification devices use microphones to capture and amplify all sounds around you, before delivering it to your ear at an adequate and audible volume level. What kind of devices are available? There are plenty of hearing amplifiers designed to help you while on the telephone, watching TV, and for in-person conversations. However, these devices amplify all sounds equally and aren’t designed to support hearing loss. For an all‑round solution that adapts to your personal hearing needs, a hearing aid is often the most effective option. Our expert audiologists can assess your hearing and guide you towards the most suitable hearing aid for your lifestyle and needs. What’s the difference between a hearing aid and a hearing amplifier? All hearing aids use amplification, however, hearing aids are regulated medical devices carefully programmed and tailored to fit the hearing loss of a particular individual. This makes them more suitable for moderate to severe hearing loss. Hearing amplifiers are not medical devices and are not designed to diagnose, treat or manage hearing loss. They don’t adapt to your individual needs, meaning they offer volume without improving clarity or understanding. What are induction loops? An induction loop is an older technology system designed to help hearing aid users to hear more clearly in some specific environments. You’ll often find them in places like meeting rooms, theatres, banks, and cinemas.  Here’s how it works:  A thin cable is installed around a room or designated listening area  The system creates a magnetic field that carries speech or important sound  When you switch your hearing aid or ALDs to the T (telecoil) setting, you can hear the sound closer to you and more clear with less background noise  Induction loops can make a huge difference to day‑to‑day listening comfort. Our audiologists can help you understand how loops - and other assistive listening devices - can work with Hearing Aids.  What is Auracast? Auracast is a new Bluetooth audio technology designed to make listening more inclusive. It allows one device to broadcast high-quality sound to multiple compatible hearing aids, earbuds, or headphones at the same time, without the need for pairing. Developed with the hearing aid industry for assistive listening, Auracast could mean easier access to shared audio in public spaces such as train stations and lecture theatres. For people with hearing loss, it’s a positive step towards clearer sound and greater confidence in everyday situations. Leightons free hearing test Leightons Opticians & Hearing Care offers a free hearing test in all branches. We provide a comprehensive hearing check carried out by our experts – professionally trained hearing aid audiologists registered with the HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council), with some even members of the British Society of Hearing Aid Audiologists. Book your free hearing test now You can book an appointment online or you can call us on 0800 40 20 20 to arrange a free hearing test at your nearest Leightons branch. Alternatively, you can take the test at home. This involves the same experienced, professional audiologist you would see in branch coming to your home to carry out your hearing test with specialist portable equipment.
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