Health

Stress Could Lead to Hearing Loss

Stress, present at almost any age, has become commonplace in our lives. Many people live every day with a very high level of stress that inevitably causes countless health problems. In the long run, physical changes caused by chronic stress can cause hearing loss.

Does stress affect hearing?

Yes. When we are constantly stressed, the body does not receive a clear signal to return to normal, as happens when stress is acute or traumatic. This can lead to serious health problems, such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes and other conditions. As a result, these conditions affect hearing.

Stress, hypertension and hearing loss

Any condition that affects your blood circulation – heart disease, diabetes, smoking – will have a negative impact on hearing, because hair cells depend on good circulation to fulfill its delicate mission of translating the noise collected by the outer ear into impulses. so that the brain can interpret sounds correctly.

Each of these cells in the form of strands are responsible for translating specific frequencies, because when the cells are completely damaged or dead, of course, the ability to transmit the message is also affected.

Hearing loss resulting from the degradation of hair cells is called neurosensory hearing loss.

How to manage and reduce stress

Although neurosensory hearing loss is not reversible, combating or reducing stress can protect hearing impaired by poor circulation. The American Psychological Association has listed 5 steps to a less stressful life:

Take breaks. When you feel that you are in a stressful situation, make an effort to calm down for 30 minutes. This distance from the situation that caused you a lot of stress can give you new perspectives and can make you feel less overwhelmed by the situation.

Make exercise a daily habit. You need 30 minutes of exercise, running, walking or various forms of exercise for your physical and mental health to improve.

Smile as often as possible and don’t refuse a good laugh. Facial movements relax the muscles and send a signal of happiness to the brain.

Appeal to social support. Talk to someone who can understand what you are going through and can give you positive feedback.

Meditate. Like exercise, meditation, in the case of hearing loss, helps the mind and body to relax.

The audiologist can help you

If you have also noticed a hearing impairment, it is time for a hearing consultation and evaluation.

After this step, you will go through hearing evaluation with non-invasive, fast and painless tests that will result in the audiogram, the graph that shows the state of your hearing. Based on the consultation and the audiogram, the audiologist will recommend hearing aids that are compatible with your needs according to your lifestyle and that fit within the budget that you have available.