You may have heard about hearing loss, one of the most common medical conditions, especially in the United States. Hearing loss doesn’t happen just because you are exposed to loud noises. It usually occurs gradually because of habits you build over time and can be triggered by unexpected things. The severity and treatment of hearing loss will differ from one person to another.
Less-known things affecting your hearing
Hearing can degrade slowly as you age, but it is also affected by factors such as your lifestyle, job type, or unexpected things. Hearing loss has signs, but they can be subtle, so most people often miss them. For example, the signs can include increasing the volume or asking people to repeat themselves more often.
Viral or bacterial infection
Hearing damage can result from viral or bacterial infection. This type of infection can muffle your hearing and impair your balance, possibly resulting in tinnitus. Luckily, hearing loss due to this cause is often temporary if you seek the right treatment immediately.
Head trauma
Most people thought that head trauma only affects the brain inside. However, head trauma can impact your hearing as well. Anything that damages your ears or brain can affect your hearing, such as a blow to the head, getting foreign objects inside your ears, or an accident that damages your canal or eardrum.
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Diabetes
Surprisingly, diabetes can also affect your hearing. Diabetes boosts the risk of developing hearing loss. It’s because diabetes can damage the nerve cells in your ears. Of course, low blood sugar can also damage your hearing as it compromises the signals from the ears to the brain. Diabetes is not a significant cause of hearing loss but can affect your hearing in certain circumstances.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a widespread and sometimes underestimated condition. However, recent research found that it is linked to increased hearing loss and decreased blood flow in the inner ears.
High blood pressure
Blood flow plays a significant role in healthy hearing, as ear structures are sensitive to changes in blood flow. Hence, high blood pressure can affect your hearing because your heart and blood vessels are overworked. It overwhelms ear structures with blood, often causing temporary hearing loss that goes away once your blood pressure returns to normal.
