Stress. We all deal with it in one form or another.
Stress can cause all sorts of issues in our bodies. It’s actually quite a common source of many health-related issues we experience.
But can stress cause hearing loss? Our bodies are very interconnected. So things that, on the surface, may not seem like they’re related to one another – like stress and our ears – actually can be.
Unfortunately, there is a great deal of stress in the air these days. It seems like people are more stressed out than ever before. Below we’ll take a look at how this stress may impact our hearing and lead to hearing loss.
Can Stress Cause Hearing Loss?
The surprising answer to this question (for many at least) is yes. It is possible to experience hearing loss due to stress.
If you are experiencing some hearing loss, it might be the result of an accumulation of stress over many years. The reason for this has to do with stress and its effect on our circulation. Basically, a lot of stress can restrict the circulation in our bodies.
And anything that affects your circulation—heart disease, diabetes, smoking—can negatively influence your hearing. Why is this so?
This is primarily due to the fact that the small sensory hairs of the inner ear rely on excellent circulation to translate the noise from your outer ears into electrical impulses for the brain to decipher as recognizable sounds.
This is delicate work, however, and the inner ear’s fragile hair cells rely on a steady flow of blood to receive the proper amount of oxygen and other nutrients.
How Does Stress Cause Hearing Loss?
When your body reacts to stress, you produce cortisol, the stress hormone. In turn, this triggers the release of adrenaline throughout your body.
When adrenaline is produced in large quantities, it limits blood supply to the ears, impairing hearing.
When daily stress accumulates, it can disrupt blood circulation throughout the body, and can destroy hair cells. Sometimes permanently.
Take an extreme situation where you become so anxious that blood flow to your ears stops completely. It’s possible that this could result in instant hearing loss.
Hypertension and Hearing
Hypertension is a result of adrenaline production and is harmful to our hearing.
So what is hypertension?
Hypertension is a type of elevated blood pressure that is frequently associated with stress and can have big consequences for our hearing.
When you experience high blood pressure frequently, it damages your blood vessels in your entire body, including your ears. Since the small sensory hairs of your inner ears depend on healthy blood vessels, repetitive stress can affect your hearing.
According to Hearing Consultants, “Hypertension is high blood pressure that often accompanies stress, and has severe hearing repercussions. When your blood pressure is high, your blood vessels are damaged. This damage isn’t centered in one area of the body – your entire body is affected, including your ears.”.
Stress caused hearing loss can manifest as a blocked feeling in the ears, pressure or discomfort in the ears, or even a full loss of hearing in one or both ears.
If you feel like you’re losing your sense of hearing due to stress, it is best to explore methods of stress management and to consult with your audiologist to help manage the symptoms.