It’s no fun when you can’t sleep at night. And when it occurs frequnetly, it’s especially vexing. You lie awake tossing and turning, checking the time again and again, and stressing about how exhausted you will be tomorrow. Medical professionals call this type of persistent sleeplessness “insomnia”. Over time, the effects of persistent insomnia will add up, negatively impacting your general health.
And, maybe not surprisingly, “your general health” includes the health of your hearing. That’s right, insomnia can have an affect 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 link there.
Can your hearing be affected by lack of sleep?
What could the link between hearing loss and sleep be? There’s a substantial amount of research that suggests insomnia, over time, can impact your cardiovascular system. Without the nightly restorative power of sleep, it’s more difficult for your blood to get everywhere it needs to be.
Anxiety and stress also increase when you have insomnia. Being stressed and anxious are not only states of mind, they’re physiological states, also.
So, how does hearing loss play into that? There are little hairs inside of your ears called stereocilia. When waves of sound vibrate these little hairs, signals are transmitted to your brain which translates these signals into sound.
These little hairs have a hard time remaining healthy when there are circulatory issues. In some cases, poor circulation can damage these hairs, permanently. Damage of this type is permanent. Permanent hearing loss can be the outcome, and the longer the circulation problems 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 sleeping? Yes, it can! Many people favor a little background sound when they try to sleep and hearing loss can make your environment very quiet. This means that the quiet of hearing loss can in some cases prevent normal sleeping. 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 quality night’s sleep? Wearing your hearing aids during the day can help minimize stress on your brain at night (when you aren’t wearing them). Adhering to other sleep-health tips can also help.
Some recommendations for a quality night’s sleep
- Exercise regularly: You may go to bed with some extra energy if you don’t get enough exercise. Being active every day can help.
- For at least 2 hours before you go to bed, try to abstain from liquids: Every time you need to get up and go to the bathroom, you begin the wake up process. It’s much better to sleep right through the night.
- Find ways to reduce stress: It may not be possible to eliminate every stressor from your life, but giving yourself time to unwind is crucial. Do something relaxing before bed.
- Avoid drinking alcohol before you go to bed: This will simply disrupt your existing sleep cycle.
- Quit drinking caffeine after noon: Even decaf coffee has enough caffeine in it to keep you up at night if you drink at night. This includes soda too.
- Avoid screens for at least an hour before bed: (Actually, the longer the better.) Screens have a tendency to activate your brain
- Maintain your bedroom for sleeping (mostly): Try to limit the amount of things you use your bedroom for. Working in your bedroom isn’t a great idea.
Pay attention to the health of your hearing
Even if you have experienced some insomnia-associated symptoms in the past, and have some hearing loss, your symptoms can still be managed.
Schedule an appointment for a hearing test today!
