Let’s face it, there’s no getting away from aging, and with it usually comes hearing loss. Sure, coloring your hair might make you look younger, but it doesn’t actually change your age. But did you know that hearing loss has also been connected to health problems related to aging that are treatable, and in some cases, avoidable? Let’s have a look at a few examples that might surprise you.
1. Diabetes can affect your hearing
So it’s fairly well recognized that diabetes is associated with an increased risk of hearing loss. But why would diabetes put you at a higher risk of developing hearing loss? Science is at somewhat of a loss here. Diabetes is connected to a wide variety of health problems, and in particular, can cause physical harm to the eyes, kidneys, and extremities. Blood vessels in the inner ear may, theoretically, be getting destroyed in a similar way. But it could also be linked to general health management. A 2015 study revealed that people with overlooked diabetes had worse results than individuals who were treating and managing their diabetes. If you are concerned that you may be prediabetic or have overlooked diabetes, it’s essential to speak to a physician and get your blood sugar evaluated. And, it’s a good idea to contact us if you think your hearing may be compromised.
2. Increased risk of falling associated with hearing loss
Why would your risk of falling go up if you have hearing loss? Though our ears play an important part in helping us balance, there are other reasons why hearing loss might get you down (in this case, quite literally). A study was conducted on participants who have hearing loss who have recently fallen. Though this study didn’t explore what had caused the subjects’ falls, the authors suspected that having trouble hearing what’s around you (and missing important sounds like a car honking) could be one issue. At the same time, if you’re working hard to concentrate on the sounds around you, you could be distracted to your environment and that might also result in a higher danger of having a fall. Luckily, your danger of having a fall is decreased by getting your hearing loss treated.
3. Control high blood pressure to protect your hearing
High blood pressure and hearing loss have been closely linked in some studies indicating that high blood pressure might speed up hearing loss related to the aging process. Clearly, this isn’t the sort of reassuring news that makes your blood pressure go down. But it’s a link that’s been discovered fairly consistently, even when controlling for variables such as noise exposure and whether you’re a smoker. (You should never smoke!) Gender appears to be the only appreciable variable: If you’re a man, the link between high blood pressure and hearing loss is even stronger.
Your ears have a very close relation to your circulatory system. In addition to the many tiny blood vessels inside your ear, two of the body’s main arteries run right by it. This is one reason why people who have high blood pressure often experience tinnitus, the pulsing they’re hearing is actually their own blood pumping. When your tinnitus symptoms are the result of your own pulse, it’s known as pulsatile tinnitus. The leading theory why high blood pressure can bring about hearing loss is that it can actually cause physical damage to the vessels in the ears. Every beat of your heart will have more pressure if it’s pumping blood harder. That could possibly harm the smaller blood arteries in your ears. High blood pressure is manageable through both lifestyle modifications and medical interventions. But even if you don’t think you’re old enough for age-related hearing loss, if you’re having difficulty hearing, you should contact us for a hearing test.
4. Cognitive decline and hearing loss
Even though a powerful connection between mental decline and hearing loss has been well established, scientists are still not altogether sure what the connection is. The most prevalent theory is that people with neglected hearing loss tend to retreat from social interaction and become debilitated by lack of stimulus. The stress of hearing loss overloading the brain is another theory. When your brain is working overtime to process sound, there might not be very much brainpower left for things like memory. Playing “brain games” and keeping your social life active can be really helpful but the best thing you can do is treat your hearing loss. Social situations will be easier when you can hear clearly and instead of struggling to hear what people are saying, you can focus on the essential stuff.
Make an appointment with us as soon as possible if you think you might be experiencing hearing loss.
References
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2018/8541638/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1808869415310016
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3889339/
