Is Your Heart Cheating Your Hearing?

Cardiovascular disease, which is heart disease, includes, collectively, a number of conditions caused by blocked or narrowed blood vessels. Heart disease contributes to stroke, chest pain, or heart attacks. Heart attacks cause about 610,000 deaths in the U.S., and each year 735,000 people suffer from heart attacks. A healthier lifestyle can dramatically reduce these numbers.

American Heart Month occurs in February, so during this time focus on lessening your risk of developing heart disease and learn to identify the risk factors. Surprisingly, paying attention to your hearing is one sure way to protect your heart.

Cardiovascular disease and hearing loss

There is a well known link between heart disease and hearing loss. Compared to the general population,  54 percent of people with heart disease are more likely to experience a hearing loss, according to a Harvard University study. This means hearing loss occurs more often in people with cardiovascular disease than the general population, making heart disease a comorbidity of hearing loss. Understand that both conditions often occur together. The reason is that the tiny hair cells in the inner ear that conduct sound to the brain are vulnerable to poor blood flow, which results from narrowed blood vessels. Failure to get enough oxygen through the blood to the tiny hair cells can cause damage to them permanently and, therefore, cause poor hearing. Poor blood circulation affects hearing, so this sign could mean you have an issue with heart disease.

Heart health and hearing

You can take steps to protect your hearing by having a healthy heart. A list of three initiatives are:

• Eat well: Because proper nutrition is vital, eat plenty of whole grains, fish, plenty of fruit, and vegetables, while avoiding food with a high content of trans fat, sodium, and saturated fat.

 

• Avoid smoking: Smoking is harmful to your inner ears and heart, so stop smoking and avoid secondhand smoke.

 

• Exercise: To protect both your hearing and heart, a healthy lifestyle is recommended. Exercise 20 to 30 minutes per day, five days per week.

One part of the body often affects another. Hearing loss may be an indicator of heart disease, so speak with your physician if you think there may be a connection. Also, contact your hearing instrument specialist at Pure Sound Hearing Aids to get your hearing tested.

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