Looking After Your Hearing

There are a few things that you wouldn’t want to lose. Your car keys, your bank cards, and maybe even your bike lock. But all of those will fall into insignificance when you put them against losing your hearing. There are many people who are walking around with some degree of hearing loss. Much of which can be attributed to noise-induced hearing loss. It is becoming increasingly common in children too. So how do you prevent hearing loss?

Photo by Malte Wingen on Unsplash

How To Manage an Earache At Home

There are a few things in life that are incredibly painful. Toothache and earache are high on the list. If it has an impact on your whole body for the duration of the pain. You will likely find that you are left with an earache after you have had a cold or the flu. If you have another ear complaint you might need to seek out specialist advice for what to do if you end up with something like tinnitus, click here for more information on that. 

Photo by Yuris Alhumaydy on Unsplash

But there are ways that you can manage ear pain at home. 

Infection

The first thing that you need to do is head to the doctors so that they can rule out if you have an ear infection. If you do, you may not always get antibiotics. If you do, it is essential that you finish the whole course of medication. Many people are tempted to stop once the pain goes, but just because the pain has gone doesn’t mean that the infection has. They will likely either give you advice on what pain medication you can take or prescribe you some to take. Again - see the course of tablets through. 

Warm Compress

Soak a small hand towel in boiling water and let it cool until it is just warm to touch rather than hot. Many people find the heat of the towel will help relax a lot of the muscles around the jaw, neck, and ear which can ease the pain. If there is liquid leaking out of the ear, this will also encourage it to move. 

Cold Compress

Sometimes the warm one doesn’t work. A cold compress might ease any heat or irritation in the area, as well as help relieve some of the swelling and throbbing sensations. It is better to try both and see what works. 

Pain Relief

If you have been to the doctor and you don’t have an infection, but you are in a lot of pain they might say the best thing to do is go home and then simply take some pain medication. You can take a range of items for earache, and depending on how acute it is, you may opt for the stronger pain killers. Ibuprofen, naproxen, co-codamol, and regular paracetamol might be enough to take the pain away for a few hours. It is vital that you don’t take too much while you are in the middle of the peak of pain. 

Rest

Staying busy and still running errands is not going to help - in most cases. Although a gentle walk can help you relax and take your mind off it for a while, rest is going to be the better option. When you do rest, try to remain as upright as possible. While you might be tempted to lay down, and on the side with the earache (usually to help fluid drain) don’t. Sitting up will relieve the pressure in your ear, which will lighten some of the pain too. 

Lingering

Earache may linger for a week or so, but if you find that there has been no improvement, then you might light to head back to the doctors so that you can get it looked at again. Occasionally, there might be lasting damage. 

Are You Planning Your Thanksmas Celebration?!

If you don't know what I'm talking about, head over to Vocal Media to check out my article about Thanksmas.

Thanksmas is a holiday in between Thanksgiving and Christmas and it was invented by my very own father! (who reminded me about this fact during our monthly brunch today at Panera Bread)

I dig it because it's more low-key than any other holiday, and you can get together with anyone you want!

Enjoy!

Indoor Fort-Building with Kids 101

Sometimes we love to just trash out our house and make forts, and I think you should do it as well! 

Back in 2011 (this post was originally published 9/20/11), each of the five kids needed their own fort, then they would go visit each other, deliver mail to each other, etc. Here are some things you need for a good fort:

1. a big, light blanket or dark sheet

2. something to weigh your cloth material down and/or

3. something high to hang the material from

4. pillows

5. snacks

6. battery-powered candles

7. some kid books to read

Since we moved to the country and have a completely different type of house and furniture, the kids now use large binder clips to hang material on an upright ping-pong tabletop propped on something. One fort was built using the couch in the boys' room, a twin bed, and the ping-pong tabletop as a roof. Somehow they even made it like a maze and it stayed up several days. 

My husband is pretty much the Master Fort Builder of the World, and he has passed on that skill to our kids.

When's the last time you built a fort indoors?

What You Should Probably Research Before Your Big Move

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Moving house is always filled with lots of different details and formalities. It’s not just a case of upping sticks and moving to wherever you want. There are lots of different jobs that need to be handled. If we were all able to do as we pleased with very little organization, then the whole world would be chaos! You have to get everything handled in terms of where you are now, and you have to do a little recon into the new home as well. 

When it comes to the new area that you’re going to be heading to, you’re going to want to research a lot of different aspects surrounding it. You don’t want to head into a new place and regret it immediately. The spontaneity of moving might seem appealing to many, but it’s a big commitment and a significant part of your life, so you’re going to want to be prepared for anything that comes your way. Each of you will have different things at the top of your priorities, so you won’t all feel the need to look into the same stuff. Here are four examples of what you might want to research, however: 

How Friendly The Area Is 

This should probably be considered quite heavily – on a small and large scale. In terms of your potential neighbourhood, you might want to ask around when you’re house-viewing. It might seem a little odd, but knocking on doors and having a friendly chat regarding the people around the place wouldn’t be much of a problem. On a larger scale, you should also probably check what kind of problems there are or whether some may surface. Social media platforms like Facebook have groups that share information about particular areas – you could join one of those. If you have kids, then it might be wise to check things like offenders registers. 

Where The Important Stuff Actually Is

Banks, stores, and other services are going to be needed every single day, so you’re going to want to know where each of them are located. This shouldn’t be too much of a problem; a simple drive around the area should familiarize you with things. You can look online at things like GoBank reviews if you want to know where ATMs are and other important financial info. The necessities of life should be handled before you can worry about anything else. 

Where Fun Activities Are Located 

Life isn’t always about working and staying alive, however. You need to be able to occupy your free time somehow. There will probably be different clubs and centres scattered around, so looking into what’s available wouldn’t be a bad idea. You can obviously worry about this kind of thing once you’re all moved in, but it would be smart to know beforehand, too. 

The History Of The Area

If you’re not exactly moving very far, then you’ll already know about your surroundings. If it’s a big move to the other side of the country, for example, then you might want to brush up on the happenings of the area. Not only would it benefit you in terms of settling in, but locals would appreciate it a lot.