Let’s face it, there’s no getting away from aging, and with it often comes hearing loss. Sure, dyeing your hair may make you look younger, but it doesn’t really change your age. But did you realize that hearing loss has also been connected to health problems related to aging that are treatable, and in some cases, avoidable? Let’s take a look at a few examples that might be surprising.
1. Your hearing can be impacted by diabetes
The fact that hearing loss and diabetes have a link is fairly well understood. But why would you have a higher risk of developing hearing loss if you have diabetes? Science is at somewhat of a loss here. Diabetes has been known to harm the kidneys, eyes, and extremities. Blood vessels in the inner ear might, theoretically, be getting damaged in a similar way. But overall health management may also be a consideration. A 2015 study that looked at U.S. military veterans underscored the link between hearing loss and diabetes, but in particular, it found that those with unchecked diabetes, in other words, people who aren’t controlling their blood sugar or alternatively treating the disease, suffered worse consequences. It’s significant to get your blood sugar tested if you think you might have overlooked diabetes or are prediabetic. And, it’s a good plan to get in touch with us if you think your hearing might be compromised.
2. Risk of hearing loss associated falls goes up
Why would your risk of falling go up if you have hearing loss? Our sense of balance is, to some extent, managed by our ears. But there are other reasons why falling is more likely if you have loss of hearing. Participants with hearing loss who have had a fall were the subjects of a recent study. Though this study didn’t delve into what had caused the subjects’ falls, the authors suspected that having trouble hearing what’s around you (and missing important sounds such as a car honking) could be one issue. At the same time, if you’re working hard to concentrate on the sounds nearby, you could be distracted to your environment and that may also lead to a higher chance of having a fall. Fortunately, your risk of experiencing a fall is reduced by having your hearing loss treated.
3. Safeguard your hearing by managing high blood pressure
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 aging. This sort of news might make you feel like your blood pressure is actually rising. Even when variables such as noise exposure or smoking are taken into consideration, the connection has persistently been seen. (Please don’t smoke.) Gender appears to be the only important variable: The connection between hearing loss and high blood pressure is even stronger if you’re a man.
Your ears have a close relation to your circulatory system. Two of your body’s primary arteries run right by your ears and it consists of many tiny blood vessels. The sound 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 called pulsatile tinnitus. The leading theory why high blood pressure can cause hearing loss is that it can actually do physical harm to the vessels in the ears. Every beat of your heart will have more pressure if it’s pumping blood harder. That could potentially damage the smaller blood arteries inside of your ears. High blood pressure is manageable through both lifestyle modifications and medical interventions. But if you suspect you’re dealing with hearing loss, even if you feel like you’re too young for the age-related stuff, it’s a good move to talk to us.
4. Cognitive decline and hearing loss
It’s scary stuff, but it’s significant to note that while the link between hearing loss and cognitive decline has been well documented, scientists have been less productive at sussing out why the two are so strongly connected. A prevalent idea is that having difficulty hearing can cause people to avoid social situations and that social detachment, and lack of cognitive stimulation, can be incapacitating. The stress of hearing loss straining the brain is another idea. In other words, because your brain is putting so much energy into understanding the sounds around you, you might not have much energy left for remembering things like where you left your keys. Playing “brain games” and keeping your social life active can be very helpful but the best thing you can do is manage your hearing loss. If you’re able to hear clearly, social scenarios are easier to handle, and you’ll be able to focus on the important stuff instead of attempting to figure out what somebody just said.
Schedule an appointment with us as soon as possible if you suspect 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/