Remember the old story of Johnny Appleseed? In elementary school, you might have been taught that he migrated across the US, bringing the gift of healthy apples to every community he visited (you should eat apples because they are good for you and that’s the moral of the story).
That’s only somewhat accurate. At the end of the 19th century, Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman was his real name) did in fact bring apples to many parts of the United States. But apples were really different way back then. They weren’t as sweet or delicious. Making hard cider, in fact, was the chief use of apples.
That’s right. Johnny Appleseed was providing booze to every community he visited.
Alcohol and humans can have a complex relationship. It isn’t good for your health to start with (and not only in the long run, many of these health impacts can be felt right away when you spend the early morning hours dizzy, vomiting, or passed out). Conversely, humans typically like feeling inebriated.
This isn’t new. Since humans have been recording history, people have been indulging in alcohol. But it may be possible that your hearing problems are being exacerbated by alcohol consumption.
So when you’re at the bar, loud music isn’t the only risk to the health of your hearing. It’s also the cocktails.
Drinking triggers tinnitus
The majority of hearing specialists will tell you that drinking causes tinnitus. That isn’t really that difficult to believe. You’ve probably experienced “the spins” if you’ve ever drank too much. When you’re dizzy and the room feels like it’s spinning after drinking this is what’s known as “the spins”.
The spins will occur because the alcohol is interfering with the part of your body in control of balance: your inner ear.
And what else is your inner ear good for? Hearing, of course! So if alcohol can trigger the spins, it’s not difficult to believe that it can also generate ringing or buzzing in your ears.
That’s because alcohol is an ototoxic compound
Now there’s a scary word: ototoxic. But it’s actually just a fancy term for something that impairs the auditory system. The whole auditory system from your ears to your brain is involved in this.
There are several ways that this plays out in practice:
- Alcohol can degrade the stereocilia in your ears (these fragile hairs in your ears transmit vibrational information to your brain for additional processing). These little hairs will never heal or grow back once they have been damaged.
- The blood flow in your ear can also be reduced by alcohol. The lack of blood flow can itself be a source of damage.
- Alcohol can impact the neurotransmitters in your brain that are in control of hearing. This means that, while the alcohol is in your system, your brain isn’t functioning efficiently (clearly, decision-making centers are impacted; but so, too, are the parts of your brain in charge of hearing).
Tinnitus and hearing loss caused by drinking are usually temporary
You might start to detect some symptoms when you’re out on the town having a few drinks with friends.
These symptoms, luckily, are normally not permanent when caused by alcohol. As your body chemistry goes back to normal, you’ll most likely begin to recover some of your hearing and your tinnitus will wane.
But the longer you have alcohol in your system, the longer your symptoms will persist. And it may become permanent if this kind of damage keeps happening continually. So if you drink too much too frequently, permanent damage could possibly occur.
A couple of other things are happening too
Of course, it’s more than simply the booze. The bar scene isn’t hospitable for your ears for other reasons as well.
- Alcohol leads to other issues: Drinking is also bad for other aspects of your health. Diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and high blood pressure can be the outcome of alcohol abuse. And more extreme tinnitus symptoms as well as life threatening health concerns could be the result.
- Noise: The first is that bars are typically, well, noisy. That’s part of their… uh… charm? Look, if you’re 20 it’s fine; if you’re 40 it’s a little bit much. There’s plenty of laughing, people talking, and loud music. Your hearing can be damaged over time by this.
In other words, the combination of the environment and the alcohol make those late night bar trips a potent (and hazardous) mix for your hearing.
Does that mean it’s time to quit drinking?
Of course, we’re not suggesting that drinking by yourself in a quiet room is the solution here. It’s the alcohol, not the social interaction, that’s the root of the problem. So if you’re having difficulty moderating your drinking, you could be causing major problems for yourself, and for your hearing. You should speak with your doctor about how you can seek treatment, and start on the path to being healthy again.
If you’ve noticed a loud ringing in your ears after heavy drinking, make an appointment with us for a consultation.
