Health Problems Linked to Hearing Loss

From depression to dementia, many other health conditions are linked to the health of your hearing. Your hearing is linked to your health in the following ways.

1. Diabetes Impacts Your Hearing

When tested with low to mid-frequency sound, individuals with diabetes were two times as likely to have mild to severe hearing loss according to a widely cited study that looked at over 5,000 adults. Hearing loss was also more likely with high-frequency tones, but less severe. The researchers also found that subjects who were pre-diabetic, in other words, those who have blood sugar levels that are elevated but not high enough to be diagnosed as diabetes were 30% more likely to have hearing impairment than those with regular blood sugar levels. A more recent meta-study found that the link between diabetes and hearing loss was consistent, even when controlling for other variables.

So it’s pretty recognized that diabetes is linked to an increased risk of hearing loss. But why would diabetes put you at a higher risk of experiencing hearing impairment? When it comes to this, science doesn’t really have an explanation. Diabetes is connected to a wide range of health problems, and particularly, can result in physical damage to the eyes, kidneys, and extremities. It’s possible that diabetes has a similar damaging impact on the blood vessels of the inner ear. But it might also be related to overall health management. A study that observed military veterans underscored the link between hearing loss and diabetes, but specifically, it found that those with uncontrolled diabetes, essentially, individuals who are not controlling their blood sugar or otherwise treating the disease, suffered worse outcomes. If you are concerned that you might be pre-diabetic or have undiagnosed diabetes, it’s important to speak to a doctor and get your blood sugar tested.

2. High Blood Pressure Can Damage Your Ears

It is well established that high blood pressure has a connection to, if not accelerates, hearing loss. Even when adjusting for variables like whether you smoke or your amount of noise exposure, the results are solid. Gender appears to be the only variable that matters: Men who have high blood pressure are at a higher risk of hearing loss.

The circulatory system and the ears have a close relationship: Two of your body’s main arteries go right past your ears in addition to the presence of tiny blood vessels in your ears. People with high blood pressure, often, can hear their own blood pumping and this is the cause of their tinnitus. Because you can hear your own pulse with this kind of tinnitus, it’s called pulsatile tinnitus. The leading theory why high blood pressure would accelerate hearing loss is that high blood pressure can result in physical harm to your ears. If your heart is pumping harder, there’s more power with each beat. The smaller blood vessels in your ears can be damaged by this. Both medical intervention and lifestyle changes can be used to help regulate high blood pressure. But if you think you’re suffering from hearing loss, even if you think you’re not old enough for age-related hearing loss, you need to make an appointment to see us.

3. Hearing Loss And Dementia

You might have a greater chance of dementia if you have hearing loss. Almost 2000 people were analyzed over a six year period by Johns Hopkins University, and the research revealed that even with mild hearing loss (about 25 dB), the danger of dementia rises by 24%. And the worse the level of hearing loss, the higher the danger of dementia, according to another study conducted over 10 years by the same researchers. They also uncovered a similar connection to Alzheimer’s Disease. Based on these findings, moderate hearing loss puts you at 3X the chance of someone without hearing loss. Severe hearing loss puts you at nearly 4x the risk.