Let’s face it, there’s no getting away from aging, and with it usually comes hearing loss. You can do some things to look younger but you’re still aging. But did you know that hearing loss has also been linked to health issues related to aging that are treatable, and in some instances, avoidable? Let’s have a look at some examples that might be surprising.
1. Diabetes can impact your hearing
So it’s pretty well recognized that diabetes is associated with a higher danger of hearing loss. But why would diabetes give you a higher risk of experiencing hearing loss? Well, science doesn’t provide all the solutions here. Diabetes is linked to a wide variety of health issues, and in particular, can cause physical damage to the eyes, kidneys, and extremities. One idea is that the condition might affect the ears in a similar way, damaging blood vessels in the inner ear. But general health management may also be a factor. A 2015 study found that people with neglected diabetes had worse outcomes than individuals who were treating and managing their diabetes. If you are worried that you may be prediabetic or have overlooked diabetes, it’s essential to talk with a physician and get your blood sugar checked. By the same token, if you have trouble hearing, it’s a good plan to reach out to us.
2. Increased danger of falling associated with hearing loss
Why would your chance of falling increase if you have hearing loss? Even 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, very literally). A study was carried out on participants 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 significant sounds, like a car honking, could be a huge part of the cause. At the same time, if you’re struggling to concentrate on the sounds nearby, you may be distracted to your environment and that may also lead to a higher danger of having a fall. The good news here is that treating hearing loss could potentially decrease your risk of having a fall.
3. Manage high blood pressure to protect your hearing
Several studies have shown that hearing loss is linked to high blood pressure, and some have found that high blood pressure may actually hasten age-related hearing loss. Obviously, this is not the sort of comforting news that makes your blood pressure go down. Even when variables such as noise exposure or smoking are taken into account, the link has consistently been found. (Please don’t smoke.) The only variable that makes a difference appears to be gender: The link between hearing loss and high blood pressure is even stronger if you’re a male.
Your ears aren’t a component of your circulatory system, but they’re really close to it. Along with the many tiny blood vessels inside of your ear, two of the body’s main arteries run right by it. The sound that people hear when they have tinnitus is frequently their own blood pumping due to high blood pressure. When your tinnitus symptoms are caused by your own pulse, it’s called pulsatile tinnitus. But high blood pressure could also possibly cause physical harm to your ears, that’s the main theory behind why it would accelerate hearing loss. Every beat of your heart will have more force 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 changes and medical treatments. But even if you don’t feel like you’re old enough for age-related hearing loss, if you’re having trouble hearing, you should give us a call for a hearing exam.
4. Dementia and hearing loss
Even though a strong link between mental decline and hearing loss has been well established, scientists are still not completely certain what the connection is. The most prevalent theory is that people with neglected hearing loss often retreat from social interaction and become debilitated by lack of stimulus. Another concept is that hearing loss taxes your brain. When your brain is working overtime to process sound, there might not be much brainpower left for things like memory. 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 scenarios are easier to handle, and you’ll be able to focus on the essential stuff instead of attempting to figure out what somebody just said.
Schedule 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/
