How is Your Hearing?

Hearing loss is only impacted by aging.

This is false. 

It’s common for people to believe this. While this is only partially true, there are other factors. Your body changes and your health conditions tend to worsen as you age. These changes and worsening conditions to your body are what impact your poor hearing health. 

You may wonder whether your hearing abilities are normal for your age. No matter what age you are, you must hear over 25 dB to hear the normal speech sounds. This standard range of sound does not change when you age. When someone begins to lose their hearing, they don’t consider it to be a big deal. Instead of addressing the problem immediately, they avoid seeking treatment until it turns into a bigger problem.  

Hearing loss can occur due to ruptured eardrums caused by autoimmune diseases, ear infections, abnormal bone growths, tumors, or exposure to loud noises. 

Any hearing loss which negatively impacts your ability to understand others when they speak is a major issue. The longer you wait to get treatment, the worse your hearing will get. This delay will make it more difficult to adjust to your hearing aids.  

Heart Disease 

Audiometric pattern as a predictor of cardiovascular status: Development of a model for assessment of risk, a study by David R. Friedland MD, Ph.D., Christopher Cederberg MD, and Sergey Tarmia Ph.D., suggests that 85% of patients who were diagnosed with strokes, also had some range of hearing loss. The inner ear is very sensitive to blood flow. This study indicates that vascular problems may negatively impact auditory and cardiovascular systems.  

Diabetes 

In the study Diabetes and risk of hearing impairment in adults: A meta-analysis, test subjects with diabetes were twice as likely to have hearing loss. This link between hearing loss and diabetes was more prevalent in people under 60 years of age. Analysts hypothesize that high levels of blood sugar might deteriorate the inner ears’ vessels, which can lead to hearing loss. 

Ototoxic Medications

More than 200 prescriptions and over-the-counter medications that are considered ototoxic - “poisonous to the ears”, are currently sold to the public. As mentioned before in this blog, common ototoxic drugs include aspirin, antibiotics, some anesthetics, loop diuretics, anti-cancer drugs, and quinine. 

When someone has heart disease or diabetes, they don’t think that this it’s normal for someone their age and then wait to seek treatment. No matter how old you are, if you experience heart disease, diabetes, or hearing loss you should immediately get help. 

Other Causes of Hearing Loss 

Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) has been mentioned frequently in this blog. NIHL is caused by hearing sounds that are too loud. It can be caused by one extremely loud blast, or occur over time due to listening to loud music on a regular basis. 

Learn more about NIHL here.

What can you do to protect your hearing health?

Think about your habits, and whether they are culpable to cause hearing loss.

1. Turn the volume down when listening to music or any other form of audio.
2. If you work in a loud environment, wear hearing protection. Your employer is required by law to provide hearing protection if you are going to work in a noisy setting for hours at a time. 
3. Get your hearing tested. An annual hearing test is recommended, but if you notice a shift in your ability to hear, contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a free hearing test. 
4. Wear hearing aids, if necessary. Hearing aid technology has improved so much in the past few years. Receiving a hearing aid that is fitted by a professional can significantly improve your hearing health, social life, and overall health.      
5. Get in the habit of regular checkups. Whether it’s with your hearing instrument specialist or your primary care provider, listen to their recommendations to reduce your risks of developing other health issues that are linked to hearing loss.

Did you know…
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• 1 in 3 people who are at least 60 years old experience hearing loss.
• 1 in 5 millennials has some form of hearing loss.
• 1 in 6 baby boomers (born between 1946-1964) experiences hearing loss.
• 1 in 14 generation Xers ( born between 1965-1980) already have hearing loss.

 
If you or a loved one are experiencing hearing loss, please contact us at Pure Sound Hearing for a free hearing test and consultation. We offer free trials on a wide variety of hearing aids, as well as listening devices like Phonak's Roger Select ™.      

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