Did you know there is an important connection between your heart and hearing?
You’re probably familiar with the importance of cardiovascular health. What you might not be aware of is the link between the cardiac and auditory systems. Good blood flow helps you maintain your hearing, and damage to the blood vessels in your ears can result in hearing loss. One study of older adults in the U.S. found that those who had experienced heart failure were 11% more likely to have hearing loss.2
What’s the Reason for This Correlation?
The hair cells in the cochlea translate noises into electrical impulses that the brain interprets as sound and relies on proper blood flow to do so. Poor circulation deprives these cells of oxygen, which causes them to become damaged or destroyed. These cells do not grow back, so inadequate blood flow can result in permanent hearing loss. It can also lead to tinnitus, a.k.a. ‘ringing in the ears.’
Hearing lossdoesn’t just affect your ears—it can also impact your mental, cognitive and physical health. One way you can protect your hearing is by taking steps to keep your heart healthy, such as cardiovascular exercise and a healthy diet.
If you already know you have some form of cardiovascular disease, it’s time to have a real heart-to-heart with an audiologist about getting a hearing evaluation.
Should you are due for an annual hearing evaluation or are at risk for hearing loss, please call us today at (503) 485-2581 to see how our trusted hearing health care providers can help you. We offer thorough audiological testing and counseling to keep you hearing at your best.
1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, October 14). Heart disease facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
2 Sterling, M. R., Lin, F. R., Jannat-Khah, D. P., Goman, A. M., Echeverria, S. E., & Safford, M. M. (2018, March 1). Hearing loss among older adults with heart failure in the United States: Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. JAMA otolaryngology– head & neck surgery. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5854543/
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