Surprising Reasons Why People Lose Their Hearing

Unexpected Reasons for Hearing LossThere are many reasons someone may be suffering from hearing loss. While some of these reasons are understandable, others aren’t always obvious. Knowing what may be causing your hearing difficulties is important so take a few moments to check some of the more unexpected risk factors out for yourself.

6 Unexpected Reasons for Hearing Loss

When you hear about someone losing their hearing, you probably think of some of the most common reasons for this to occur (e.g., aging, injury, excessive noise exposure, diabetes). However, there are also some shocking reasons why this happens.

Sleep Apnea
Several studies have been published over the past few years in which sleep apnea has been strongly linked to hearing loss. Medical professionals believe that snoring causes the inner ear to receive less blood, and unfortunately, this area is responsible for properly processing sound.

Excessive Drinking
When you drink excessive amounts of alcohol, you’re setting yourself up for health problems like heart disease and stroke. Your brain needs more time to process sound, so it’s more challenging to process lower frequency sounds.

Iron Deficiency
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have analyzed the medical records of more than 305,000 adults. In doing so, they established a relationship between iron-deficient anemia (IDA) and the loss of hearing. Those who had IDA were twice as likely to have hearing loss than those who didn’t have it. Researchers deduced that iron plays a critical role in providing a healthy blood supply to your inner ear’s delicate hair cells.

Mumps
This disease is common in childhood, and it’s known to cause painful swelling in the salivary glands located on both sides of your face. However, what many people don’t realize is that it can also result in the swelling of your brain’s membranes, resulting in you losing your hearing. Medical professionals suspect this probably happens because your ear’s cochlea is damaged. Fortunately, only about 4% of those who get mumps experience this, but it can be wholly prevented through immunization.

Chronic Stress
If you live with chronic, acute stress, you’re at risk of developing hearing problems. This hearing loss occurs because your body experiences acute stress, which diverts oxygen so you can think faster. After the stress passes, your body will typically return to normal. However, your body doesn’t receive this message when under acute stress. Therefore, the hearing mechanisms of your inner ear become damaged due to a lack of oxygen.

Vaping
Although there’s still some debate regarding vaping as an alternative to smoking, research has shown that consuming nicotine via smoking and vaping isn’t good for your hearing. The problem is that nicotine restricts the blood flow to every part of your body, even your inner ear. There are delicate stereocilia located in this part of your ear, and they’re responsible for interpreting and transmitting sound from your outer ear to your brain.

Some believe that e-cigarettes are also hazardous for your hearing. The harm lies in the fact that there’s propylene glycol (an alcohol-based solvent) in the e-cigarettes’ flavorings, colorings, and other additives. While propylene glycol may make them taste great, it’s proven harmful when applied topically to ears.

Schedule a Hearing Exam

There are many reasons why people are suffering from hearing loss today. Determining the cause starts with a hearing exam at Countryside Hearing Aid Services in Clearwater, FL.

Throughout the time we’ve spent working with patients, we’ve discovered that some people have lost their hearing for common reasons and others for uncommon reasons. Regardless of how common or uncommon these factors are, there’s one thing everyone has in common: With our help, you’ll start to be able to hear better soon. So, give us a call to schedule an appointment today.

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