With winter right around the bend, the temperatures outside are dropping. Frigid weather is on its way, which means you will need to bundle yourself up when you head outdoors. However, when you head out into the cold, make sure you don’t neglect your ears. While it’s true that you can lose a lot of heat through your head, which can affect your core temperature, you must take extra precautions to protect your ears. If you haven’t noticed, your ears are one of the first parts of your body to feel the cold. Your ears are comprised mostly of cartilage and don’t have much fat on them to help keep them warm when it’s cold. Unfortunately, leaving your ears unexposed in cold weather can contribute to or cause hearing loss to occur. Knowing how to protect your ears in winter weather can go a long way, especially when you understand why it is crucial to keep your ears warm in the cold.
You must keep your ears warm during the winter. Otherwise, you are putting yourself at risk for conditions to appear, and they can be painful. Check out these conditions that can occur if you do not keep your ears warm in the cold.
1. If you regularly expose your ears to the cold, exostosis can result. Also known as “surfer’s ear,” exostosis is a painful condition in which bone spurs grow in the ear canal to help protect the ear from the cold. Common symptoms of exostosis include pain, infections, and hearing loss. While this condition is reversible, it can only be done so with surgery, so make sure you take preventive measures when you step outside into the cold.
2. Wet and cold weather can also increase your risk of ear infections. Wearing hats or headbands can cause moisture buildup in your ear, especially if you don’t wear one made of breathable material. If you feel an earache coming on, or have a full-blown ear infection, make sure you MAKE A DOCTOR’S APPOINTMENT as soon as possible to address the problem quickly. If your ear infection is not treated correctly, it can lead to sensorineural hearing loss.
Frequently Asked Questions
Keeping your ears warm in winter is essential because they are particularly vulnerable to cold due to being mostly cartilage with little fat for insulation. Exposure to cold can cause painful conditions like exostosis and increase the risk of ear infections that may impact hearing.
Exostosis, also known as "surfer's ear," is a condition where bone spurs grow in the ear canal as a protective response to repeated cold exposure. It can cause pain, infections, and hearing loss and often requires surgery for reversal.
Yes, cold and wet weather can increase the risk of ear infections, especially if hats or headbands trap moisture in the ears. These infections can cause earaches and potentially result in sensorineural hearing loss if left untreated.
While hats and headbands help keep ears warm, those made from non-breathable materials can trap moisture in the ear, increasing the risk of infections. Choosing breathable fabrics helps prevent this problem.
If you experience ear pain, earache, or signs of an ear infection during cold weather, it's important to make a doctor's appointment promptly. Timely treatment can prevent complications like sensorineural hearing loss.
Certain conditions like exostosis caused by cold exposure require surgery to be reversed, while hearing loss from untreated infections may be permanent. Preventive measures and early treatment are critical to protect hearing.
