It’s no fun when you can’t sleep at night. And when it happens frequnetly, it’s especially vexing. You toss and turn and maybe stare at the clock (or your phone) and stress about just how exhausted you’ll be the next day. Medical professionals call this sort of persistent sleeplessness “insomnia”. Over time, the effects of persistent insomnia will compound, negatively impacting your overall health.
And the health of your hearing, not surprisingly, is part of your overall health. That’s right, insomnia can have an impact on your ability to hear. Though the relationship between hearing loss and insomnia might not be a cause-and-effect scenario, there’s still a connection there.
Can lack of sleep impact your hearing?
What could the relationship between hearing loss and sleep be? There’s a considerable amount of research that suggests insomnia, over time, can impact your cardiovascular system. Without the nightly regenerative power of sleep, it’s more difficult for your blood to get everywhere it needs to be.
Anxiety and stress also increase with insomnia. Being stressed and anxious aren’t only states of mind, they’re physiological states, also.
So, how does hearing loss play into that? There are tiny hairs inside of your ears called stereocilia. These delicate hairs vibrate when sound takes place and the information gets sent to your brain, which then translates those vibrations into sounds.
When your circulatory system is not working properly, these hairs have a difficult time remaining healthy. These hairs can, in some instances, be permanently damaged. Damage of this type is permanent. Permanent hearing loss can be the outcome, and the longer the circulation issues persist, the worse the damage will be.
Does it also work the other way around?
If insomnia can affect your hearing health, can hearing loss stop you from getting a good night’s sleep? It’s definitely possible. Many individuals favor a little background sound when they try to sleep and hearing loss can make the world very quiet. For people in this category, that amount of silence can make it really hard to get a quality night’s sleep. Another way that hearing loss may cost you some sleep is if you find yourself stressed about losing your hearing.
If you have hearing loss, what can you do to get a good night’s sleep? Stress on your brain can be reduced by wearing your hearing aids during the day because you won’t be wearing them while you sleep. It can also help if you implement some other sleep-health tips.
Some tips for a good night’s sleep
- For at least a couple of hours before you go to bed, try to abstain from liquids: Having to get up and go to the bathroom can begin the “wake up” process in your brain. It’s much better to sleep right through the night.
- Quit drinking caffeine after midday: Even if you drink decaf, it still has enough caffeine to give you problems sleeping. This includes soda too.
- For at least 60 minutes, avoid looking at screens: (Actually, the longer the better.) Screens have a tendency to activate your brain
- Exercise regularly: You could go to bed with some extra energy if you don’t get enough exercise. Being active every day can be helpful.
- Try not to utilize your bedroom for other activities other than sleeping: Try to minimize the amount of things you utilize your bedroom for. Working in your bedroom isn’t a great plan.
- Find ways to relieve stress: Get away from work and do something soothing before bed.
- Before bed, avoid drinking alcohol: This will simply interrupt your existing sleep cycle.
Take care of your hearing health
Even if you have experienced some insomnia-related symptoms in the past, and have some hearing loss, your symptoms can still be controlled.
Make an appointment for a hearing test today!