4 Ways Hearing Loss Can Impact Your Overall Health

Aging is one of the most common indicators of hearing loss, and let’s face it, try as we may, we can’t escape aging. Sure, dyeing your hair may make you look younger, but it doesn’t really change your age. But you may not be aware that a number of treatable health conditions have also been associated with hearing loss. Let’s take a look at a few examples that might surprise you.

1. Diabetes could affect your hearing

The fact that hearing loss and diabetes have a link is pretty well established. But why would diabetes put you at an increased risk of developing hearing loss? Well, science doesn’t provide all the solutions here. Diabetes is linked to a wide range of health problems, and specifically, can cause physical harm to the eyes, kidneys, and extremities. One idea is that the condition may impact the ears in a similar way, destroying blood vessels in the inner ear. But overall health management could also be a factor. A 2015 study that looked at U.S. military veterans highlighted the link between hearing loss and diabetes, but specifically, it found that those with uncontrolled diabetes, in other words, people who are not controlling their blood sugar or alternatively treating the disease, suffered worse consequences. If you are worried that you might be prediabetic or have overlooked diabetes, it’s essential to talk with a doctor and get your blood sugar screened. By the same token, if you have trouble hearing, it’s a good idea to contact us.

2. Danger of hearing loss associated falls increases

Why would having difficulty hearing cause a fall? Our sense of balance is, to some degree, managed by our ears. But there are other reasons why falls are more likely if you have hearing loss. Research was conducted on people with hearing loss who have recently fallen. The study didn’t go into detail about the cause of the falls but it did conjecture that missing important sounds, like a car honking, could be a huge part of the cause. But it could also go the other way, if difficulty hearing means you’re paying more attention to sounds than to your surroundings, it could be easy to stumble and fall. The good news here is that managing hearing loss could potentially decrease your risk of having a fall.

3. Safeguard your hearing by treating high blood pressure

Multiple studies have shown that hearing loss is associated with high blood pressure, and some have found that high blood pressure could actually hasten age-related hearing loss. Clearly, this isn’t the kind of comforting news that makes your blood pressure drop. Even when variables such as noise exposure or smoking are taken into account, the link has persistently been found. (You should never smoke!) Gender seems to be the only appreciable variable: The link between hearing loss and high blood pressure is even stronger if you’re a male.

Your ears have a close relation to your circulatory system. Along with the many tiny blood vessels inside your ear, two of the body’s main arteries go right by it. The noise that individuals hear when they experience tinnitus is frequently their own blood pumping due to high blood pressure. When your tinnitus symptoms are the result of your own pulse, it’s known as pulsatile tinnitus. But high blood pressure could also potentially cause physical damage to your ears, that’s the main theory behind why it would hasten hearing loss. If your heart is pumping harder, there’s more pressure behind each beat. That could possibly damage the smaller blood arteries inside of your ears. High blood pressure can be managed through both lifestyle improvements and medical treatments. But if you suspect you’re dealing with hearing loss, even if you think you’re too young for the age-related stuff, it’s a good move to consult with us.

4. Hearing loss and cognitive decline

It’s scary stuff, but it’s important to mention that while the connection between hearing loss and cognitive decline has been well documented, scientists have been less successful at sussing out why the two are so strongly linked. The most widespread concept is that people with neglected hearing loss tend to retreat from social interaction and become debilitated by lack of stimulation. The stress of hearing loss overloading the brain is another theory. In other words, because your brain is putting so much energy into comprehending the sounds around you, you may not have much energy left for remembering things like where you left your keys. Maintaining social ties and doing crosswords or “brain games” could be helpful, but so can treating hearing loss. If you’re able to hear clearly, social situations are easier to deal with, and you’ll be able to focus on the important stuff instead of attempting to figure out what someone just said.

Make an appointment with us as soon as possible if you think you might be experiencing hearing loss.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3889339/