Muscular tension occurs when muscles contract. Continuous muscular tension will cause waste products to accumulate in the muscular tissue. This is felt as painful and sore muscles - also called infiltrations.
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People with hearing loss have to prick up their ears to catch as much of the conversation as possible.
They turn their heads towards the sound source and look attentively at the speaker’s mouth because it promotes speech understanding. They are at work listening.
The body ignores the signs of warning |
Listening work that persists for long periods of time strains the body. The body will start giving signs of warning, such as stiffness, fatigue, soreness and pain. As you are busy listening, these signs are often neglected.
When the listening work is over, you feel tired and have tense and aching shoulder and neck muscles and maybe even a headache. If nothing is done about this, infiltrations can result.
What can you do to prevent muscular tension? |
 A well-functioning hearing aid makes listening easier. It reduces the risk of aching muscles because it requires less effort to hear. |
| During the course of the day, you should take breaks from the listening work and do some exercises (relaxation exercise, visualisation exercise or autogenic training). |
| If you are working, it is a good idea to lie down and rest a while after work. |
| Regular exercise, swimming and massage can also relieve aching muscular tension. |
Regular relaxation can help |
Regular relaxation reduces the pain from tense muscles. A relaxation instructor, chiropractor or physiotherapist can teach you some exercises to help you relax.
They can also teach you to notice signs of strained muscles.
The better you become at noticing and reacting to your body signals, the better the chance of avoiding aching muscles.
Family, friends and colleagues |
Ask your family, friends and colleagues to remind you to take breaks if you tend to forget it yourself.
SEE ALSO:
Listening workRelaxation exerciseVisualisation exerciseAutogenic trainingBody habits, 10 good
