Can Heart Disease Cause Hearing Loss?

Heart disease includes many ailments that affect the heart’s structure and function. According to the CDC, 1 in 4 Americans die from heart disease. Heart disease does more than harm your cardiovascular system. It also affects the health of many organs such as your kidneys and respiratory system. A body part that is often missed with cardiovascular diseases is your ears. The lack of blood flow and oxygen that happens with heart disease can cause hearing loss.

Connect Our Hearing And Our Hearts

Our inner ear is vital in interpreting noise and sending them to our brain to process the sound. The cochlea handles electrical impulses. It then sends those electrical impulses through tiny ear hair cells. These consists of blood vessels.

Our hearing relies on us having proper circulation and blood flow. Low blood flow and damage to blood vessels are why some people with heart disease also have hearing loss. Once the hair cells in the inner ear die, they don’t grow back. This results in hearing loss.

Exercise Promotes Healthy Hearing

Maintaining your hearing health through exercise has proven to be helpful. Cardiovascular exercise is vital to hearing health. A 2010 study used adults with no genetic predisposition for hearing loss. Those who exercised 20-30 minutes a day had healthier hearing than those who did not exercise. Talk with a doctor and add physical activity to your daily routine to prevent hearing loss.

Avoid Risk Factors

Avoiding key risk factors for heart disease is also a way for you to maintain hearing health. Risk factors include diabetes, obesity, smoking, and alcohol and drug use. An unhealthy diet and physical inactivity were also to blame. All those factors contribute to our body having poor circulation. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can prevent hearing loss related to heart disease.

Call Us Today!

Our hearing and heart connect with blood flow and circulation. Once there is damage to our inner ear hair cells, it is irreversible. You need to take proper care of your hearing health. Taking care of our heart may also prevent us from permanent damage to our ears.

For more information about hearing care, contact the team at Beltone Chicago.