Eat your carrots for good eyesight, is probably an instruction most of us were told as kids. Chances are that you didn’t hear any comparable suggestions about what foods were good for your hearing. Young children can now be taught what to eat for healthy hearing; prudent advice that we should really all stick to.

Loss of hearing can be attributable to numerous factors including infections, noise and age. Specific nutrients that can help avert some common causes of hearing loss are contained in the following foods.

Exposure to loud noise can lead to the formation of harmful free radicals bringing about the demise of inner ear hair cells, according to The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders. Reduce damage from free radicals with antioxidants and folic acid. Common foods that are rich in folic acid and antioxidants include spinach, nuts, eggs and asparagus.

You might be happy to hear that dark chocolate is beneficial to your hearing health! Dark chocolate contains zinc, and zinc deficiencies have been related to age-related hearing loss. Any foods containing zinc will do, so if you don’t care for dark chocolate, eat some oysters! instead!

Workers exposed to loud noise at work, such as musicians or machinery workers, are at an elevated risk for ear damage. Individuals with a profession or pastime subjecting them to extreme noise, can help take care of their hearing with artichokes, potatoes, bananas, or any sort of foods rich in magnesium. Scientific studies have found that foods rich in magnesium help protect against noise-induced hearing loss. The mechanism for this is not known, but the end result has been found in humans and animals.

The omega 3 fats and vitamin D found in some fish, including salmon and trout, have been shown to reduce age-related hearing loss in scientific studies. The anchovies many of us hold from our pizza and the can of tuna probably in your pantry are additional good sources of fish containing omega 3 fats and vitamin D. Any of these, consumed at least two times each week, may help you hear better in your later years.

Nowadays we can help our kids reduce future hearing damage with a couple of simple foods we probably have in our home. Simply add some of these suggestions to the list next to carrots for good vision.